The military transport aircraft carrying personnel of the armed forces and their families reportedly crashed into a mountain in eastern Algeria on Tuesday , killing more than 100 people , said a local official .
"The plane crashed into a mountain and exploded . Several corpses have otherwise burned to ashes and thus can not be identified , " the official told Reuters by telephone from the province of Oum El Bouaghi located about 500 kilomater of Algiers , capital of Algeria .
Algerian military spokesman Colonel Lahmadi Bouguern eastern region told Algerian news agency APS that the C - 130 Hercules aircraft was carrying 99 passengers and four crew members but still have not been able to find the victim dead .
He added that bad weather and strong winds may have been a major factor in the accident .
Ennahar private TV station , citing information from reliable sources , reported that at least 103 people aboard the plane were killed .
While other officials earlier told Reuters that there is one survivor of the accident and 53 bodies have been found so far .
Algerian Defense Ministry said it had formed a commission to investigate the accident flight . " Detailed information will be given after the new information is available , " he said in a statement released by APS .
Army Chief of Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Ahmed GAID One would visit the crash site , he added .
Military personnel carrier aircraft took off from the province of Tamanrasset in Algeria and parts bound for the eastern city of Constantine , told APS .
If the confirmed death toll of 103 people then the accident is the worst in Algeria since 2003 when a jet belonging to Air Algerie flight crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport in Tamangrasset , which killed 102 people .
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