Blida, Algeria, June 30: Seventeen people, including four crew, died today and at least 20 were injured when an Algerian military transport plane crashed into a residential area near Blida, south of the capital, a military source said. Seven children and three women were among those killed on the ground when the plane smashed into the Beni Mered neighbourhood on the outskirts of Blida, which lies some 50 kilometers south of Algiers, said a news agency report. Others were feared still trapped in the houses hit by the Hercules C130 aircraft. The aircraft had just taken off from a military base in Boufarik, 35 kilometers south of Algiers, when it suddenly plunged downward, witnesses said.
The crew apparently diverted the plane to avoid crashing onto the main highway linking Algiers and Blida that runs alongside the Boufarik airbase, they said. Bureau Report