Brussels, 25/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU says it is “concerned” about the accident involving a plane chartered by Algeria between Ougadougou and Algiers, which crashed last night, an EU spokesperson has stated.
“Our thoughts are with the many people who are victims of this new air tragedy. We send our condolences to the families and those close to the victims”, said the spokesperson (our translation). After a day of searches, the debris from Air Algérie flight AH 5017 was found early in the morning of Friday 25 July in the Gossi region, in north east Mali, close to the border with Burkina Faso.
There are no survivors among the 118 people on board this flight (the toll of 116 people has now been revised upwards). There were 51 French people on board.
In a joint statement, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso also sent their sincere condolences to the families and friends of the passengers and crew of the Air Algérie flight that crashed in Mali. Van Rompuy and Barroso expressed their deep sympathy and solidarity with the governments of the countries affected by this tragic event, and in particular with the presidents of Algeria and France. (FB/LC)