Algeria plane crash death toll put at 77

An Algerian military plane that crashed into a mountain in the country's eastern region had 78 passengers on board and only one survived, the country's defence ministry said.

The C-130 Hercules military plane crashed in the province of Oum El Bouaghi around midday Tuesday on its way from the Tamenrasset airport, some 2,000 km southeast of Algiers, to the Constantine airport, 500 km east of Algeria's capital Algiers, Xinhua reported citing a statement issued by the ministry.

It carried 74 passengers - members of the Algerian armed forces and their relatives - and four crew members, the statement said.

A survivor and 76 bodies were recovered at the crash site, including remains of four women, on Mount Fortas at an altitude of 1,400 metres. One passenger has not been accountable so far.

The sole survivor was seriously injured in the head and leg and has been taken to a military hospital in Constantine.

The statement said the crash was likely caused by the lack of visibility due to the heavy snowfall and strong winds in the region. Local newspaper El Watan said one of the two black box flight recorders has been located.

Earlier reports by local media said there were 103 people on board the plane.

Nearly 250 emergency personnel were deployed to the crash site despite the difficulties caused by the mountainous terrain and wintry conditions, said the statement.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called the soldiers who died in the crash "martyrs" and announced a three-day national mourning starting from Wednesday.

The accident was Algeria's worst plane crash since 2003, when 102 people were killed after a civilian airliner crashed at the end of the runway in Tamanrasset, leaving no survivor.