Ukrainian plane crashes in Algeria's desert, no survival found

ALGIERS -- An Ukrainian cargo plane crashed on Saturday at around 1:40 GMT in the province of Tamenrasset, in the extreme south of Algeria, while no survival was found by rescue teams, local media reported.

Citing a statement of the Transport Ministry, the state-run television said the Antonov-12 type jet which carried seven passengers including crew team crashed in a mountainous area 15 km southern of Tamenrasset airport, where it performed technical stop.

The statement said contact with the plane was lost three minutes after it took off from the airport of Tamenrasset.

Rescue teams were rushed to the spot of the crash but no survival was found so far.

The plane belongs to Ukraine Alliance, and carried equipment used in energy industry, the statement added.

It came from Ukraine and headed to Equatorial Guinea via Glasgow (UK), as it performed several stops, including in Ghardaia and Tamenrasset in southern Algeria.

The Transport Ministry said it established an emergency unit to investigate the crash.