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Putin offers condolences to Algeria’s president over military plane crash

The crash of a military transport plane in Algeria on Wednesday claimed hundreds of lives

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of condolences to Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika over the heavy loss of human life in the crash of a military transport plane near Boufarik airdrome.

As the Kremlin’s press-service has said, "the Russian head of state addressed the relatives and dear ones of the victims with words of sincere sympathy and support."

The crash of an Ilyushin-76TD military transport plane in Algeria on Wednesday claimed 257 lives, Algeria’s government-run television said. Earlier, the Civil Defense Department confirmed the death of 181 people.

The Algerian Air Force’s transport plane, en route from Boufarik via Tindouf to Bechar, in the country’s southwest, crashed minutes after taking off from the airdrome of a military base in Boufarik, 50 kilometers south of the capital Algiers. The plane crashed on a farm field and caught fire.