Air Algerie loses contact with plane over west Africa

The plane was flying from Ouagadougou to Algiers

Air Algerie said it lost contact with one of its passenger aircraft nearly an hour after takeoff from Burkina Faso today bound for Algiers.

"Air navigation services have lost contact with an Air Algerie plane today flying from Ouagadougou to Algiers, 50 minutes after takeoff," the airline said, cited by national news agency APS.

It said the company initiated an "emergency plan" in the search for flight AH5017, which flies the four-hour passenger route four times a week.

A company source told AFP that the missing aircraft was a DC-9, which can seat up to some 135 passengers, chartered from a Portuguese firm.

According to a source within Air Algerie, some 110 people are listed as being on board the flight.