French, Algerian air forces search for missing Air Algerie plane

ALGIERS (Xinhua) - French Air Force units in Mali and Algerian Air Force have launched a joint operation to search for an Air Algerie passenger plane that disappeared early Thursday while flying over northern Mali, a security source told Xinhua.

The source, who spoke to Xinhua on the condition of anonymity, said air search operations were focused on the desert areas near the border between Mali and Niger, adding that the Algerian authorities have requested support from the governments of Mali and Niger.

The source said that the search operation was launched jointly by the French Air Force units on stand-by in Mali and the Algerian Air Force, as part of a pre-established joint plan to search for missing planes in the region.

Earlier Thursday, an aircraft belonging to Algeria's national airline with 119 people on board disappeared, 50 minutes after takeoff from Ouagadougou Airport in Burkina Faso.

The plane reportedly vanished from radar in the Malian region of Gao, some 500 km southern of the Algerian border, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal told reporters on the sidelines of a parliament session.

 An updated statement from Air Algerie said there were 112 passengers and seven crew members onboard the missing plane, according to Algeria's state-run APS news agency.

Air Algerie also confirmed that the missing aircraft was chartered from the Spanish Swiftair company.

"The last radar contact with the plane occurred at 1:55 GMT while flying over the area of Gao in Mali," Air Algerie said, adding that the aircraft took off from Ouagadougou at 1:17 GMT and was scheduled to arrive in Algiers at 5:11 GMT (6:11 local time).

This incident comes after a week after a Boeing 777 Malaysia Airlines passenger plane mysteriously crashed over eastern Ukraine conflict zone en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board.

Algeria's neighbor Mali is still grappling with sporadic rebel attacks in its northern area after a military coup led to an armed rebellion that was crushed in 2013 by French and African troops.

Air Algerie said the company has launched an emergency response plan to try to locate the plane.

TSA, a local news website, said two emergency units have been set up by the airline, one in Algiers and the other one in Ouagadougou.