An Air Algerie flight recorder was found in Mali but no survivors, French President Francoise Hollande said Friday.
Wreckage of the jet was found in a "disintegrated state" in Mali, "Regrettably, there were no survivors. French nationals aboard the plane -- the largest group from any one nation -- would be welcomed to the Foreign Ministry on Saturday to be given all the latest information. Flight 5017 was carrying 116 people when it took off early Thursday from Burkina Faso to Algeria.
Less than an hour into the flight, the aircraft, an MD-83, disappeared from radar after changing its flight path because of bad weather, officials said.
The one "black box" recorder found so far is being taken to Gao, Mali.
"What we already know is that the plane's debris is concentrated in a limited area," he said.
"But it is still too early to draw any conclusions, they will come in time. There are hypotheses, including weather conditions, but we are not putting any of them aside because we want to find out everything that happened."
The plane's wreckage was found in Mali's Gossi region, not very far from the border with Burkina Faso, according to the French President. The jet was supposed to arrive later that day at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers. Mali is between the two nations. The cause of the crash is unknown, the flight path took the aircraft through a turbulent area hit by regular thunderstorms at this time of year he said.
Hollande said 51 French nations were on board but at a news conference later Friday, six Algerians; five Canadians; four Germans; two from Luxembourg; and one each from Mali, Cameroon, Belgium, Ukraine, Romania, Nigeria and Egypt, Air Algerie said.
Air Algerie said all six crew members were Spanish. The plane belongs to a private Spanish company, Swiftair, but was operated by Air Algerie. Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Luc Adolphe Tiao said 28 of those aboard were from Burkina Faso. There is an ongoing conflict in northern Mali between government forces, backed up by French troops, and Islamist militants. Edited from Cnn
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