Air Algerie plane 'crashes' in Niger

(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - An Air Algerie plane flying from Burkina Faso to Algiers reportedly crashed in Niger, according to international news reports. The Algerian national airline said it lost contact with the plane some 50 minutes after take-off from Ougadougou.
    Flight AH 1017 had 110 passengers and six Spanish crew members on board, according to sources with Spanish airline Swiftair, which owns the McDonnell Douglas 83 (MD83). Algerian sources said 50 of the passengers were French.
    Air Algerie had rented the plane for two months from the Madrid-based company.
    According to a report by aviation website AirLiveNet, there was a thunderstorm in the area of the crash. French Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier said a task force had been set at the country's civil aviation office. A source was quoted as saying by France Presse that the Air Algerie flight changed route due to poor visibility, to avoid a collision. ''The plane was over northern Mali, not far from the Algerian border when the crew was asked to change route due to poor visibility and to avoid the risk of a collision with another plane on the Algiers-Bamako route. Contact was lost after the route change'', said the source. Fighting between the government army and jihadist rebels is ongoing in northern Mali.