Missing Air Algerie plane from Burkina Faso has crashed: Algerian official

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. That would be very far east for that route:

The last contact Algerian authorities had with the aircraft was at 01.55am GMT when it was flying over Gao, Mali, an Algerian official said. A diplomat in the Malian capital Bamako said that the north of the country was struck by a powerful sandstorm overnight.

The Burkina Faso Transport Minister Jean Bertin Ouedrago said the flight asked to change route at 01.38am because of a storm in the area.
...
Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting that UN troops in Mali believe the plane has come down between Gao and Tessalit.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/air-algerie-loses-contact-with-plane-flying-from-burkina-faso-9625270.html

From the BBC:

The pilot had contacted Niger's control tower in Niamey to change course because of a storm, correspondents say.
...
Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal reportedly told Algerian radio: "The plane disappeared at Gao (in Mali), 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the Algerian border."

UN troops in Mali say they understand the plane came down between Gao and Tessalit, the BBC's Alex Duval Smith in the Malian capital Bamako reports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28460625