Fly savnet - MD80 fra Swift Air innleid av Air Algerie

Algeria airliner missing on Sahara route from Burkina Faso

The BBC's Alex Duval-Smith in Mali says there was "very bad weather" in the area, as well as "armed groups"

Algeria's national airline, Air Algerie, says it has lost contact with one of its planes flying from Burkina Faso to Algiers across the Sahara.

Algerian aviation officials said the plane had crashed, but gave no further details.

Contact was lost about 50 minutes after take-off from Ouagadougou, Air Algerie said, as the plane crossed Mali.

The airline said 50 French citizens were among the 110 passengers and six crew on board Flight AH 5017.

The pilot had contacted Niger's control tower in Niamey to change course because of a storm, correspondents say.

BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says the route is well used