12 die as plane crashes into house

At least 12 people were killed today when a Hercules military transport plane crashed into a house near the Algerian capital.

The plane slammed into the house in Beni Mered shortly after take off from the Boufarik military airport, 25 miles from Algiers.

Among the dead were two women and three children inside the house, as well as four crew members, rescue workers said. At least five other people were injured

It was not immediately clear whether human error, technical problems or weather were to blame. Witnesses said they saw an engine on fire upon takeoff.

In March, an Air Algerie passenger jet crashed and killed 102 people in the Sahara Desert. The crash was state-run airline’s first since it was founded in 1953, and the lack of experience in coping with airline accidents hampered rescue efforts.