Algerian transport minister to visit AH-5017 crash site

Algeria's Transport Minister Amar Ghoul is expected to arrive in Ouagadougou Saturday to visit the site where Air Algeria's flight AH5017 crashed Thursday.

Burkina Faso's Transport Minister Jean Bertin Ouedraogo Friday said that while in Ouagadougou, Ghoul would hold talks with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, Xinhua reported.

Flight AH5017 from Ouagadougou to Algiers crashed Thursday in northern Mali with 116 people on board.

None of the passengers who were from 16 nationalities survived.

On Friday, Compaore led a governmental delegation to the crash site, some 50 km from the Burkina Faso border.

Speaking after the visit, general Gilbert Diendere from the presidential guard said "one of the black boxes of the plane had been found".

He, however, regretted that the plane had "disintegrated and only body parts could be seen strewn all over".

A Burkina Faso government official said that teams of specialists will head to the site to help identify the bodies.

Meanwhile, the country's Security Minister Jerome Bougouma said "the government will make special arrangements for families of the victims to visit the crash site Saturday".

France lost the highest number of its citizens in the crash, followed by Burkina Faso and Lebanon.

Burkina Faso authorities have said an investigation into the accident has been launched and it would be coordinated by France, Mali, Burkina Faso and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.