According to French President Francois Hollande, while French forces found one flight recorder, no survivors in the Air Algerie plane crash were found that occurred on Thursday.
RELATED: Breaking: Air Algerie Crashes in Niger
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“Burkina Faso authorities said the passenger list comprised 27 people from Burkina Faso, 51 French, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, two from Luxembourg, five Canadians, four Germans, one Cameroonian, one Belgian, one Egyptian, one Ukrainian, one Swiss, one Nigerian and one Malian.
“The six crew members are Spanish, according to the Spanish pilots’ union.”
Initial reports indicated that the Air Algerie flight crashed in Niger, but subsequent analysis revealed that the plane, which left from Burkino Faso’s capital (Ougadougou) and was supposed to arrive in Algiers, crashed in Mali.
Flight AH 5017 reportedly lost contact with traffic controllers about 50 minutes after take-off, which was at around 01:30 GMT, due to a sandstorm.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the press, “The aircraft was destroyed at the moment it crashed.
“We think the aircraft crashed for reasons linked to the weather conditions, although no theory can be excluded at this point.”
President Hollande described the plane as being in a “disintegrated state.”
See the “disintegrated state” of the Air Algerie plane here:
100 French soldiers stationed in Mali to fight Boko Haram reportedly visited the crash site on Friday.
SEE ALSO: Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad & Niger Unite Against Boko Haram
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