Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has sent a message of condolences to Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika over the heavy loss of human life in the crash of a military transport plane near Boufarik airdrome.

Tajik leader also asked to convey his deep condolences to the relatives and dear ones of the victims, according to the Tajik president’s official website.  

An Algerian military plane crashed yesterday near the capital killing 257 people on board.  The aircraft reportedly came down just after taking off from Boufarik military airport, west of Algiers.

Most of the dead are army personnel and their families. Ten crew members also died.  Passengers from Western Sahara were also among the fatalities, according to the BBC.

The Algerian government has declared three days of national mourning.