BAMAKO, July 24, -- The wreckage of the missing Air Algeria flight with 116 people on board was seen in northern Mali, officials said on Thursday.

The wreckage of flight AH5017 "has been seen between Kidal and Aguelhoc", in northern Mali, President Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita told media.

The Malian government also confirmed the crash in the "border zone between Mali and Algeria" in an announcement broadcasted through national TV station ORTM.

A military source told Xinhua that the "crash of the plane occurred in the mountains between Tinzawatène and Aguelhock in Kidal."

The plane, en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers, lost contact 50 minutes after it had taken off from Ouagadougou, Air Algerie said.

Algeria witnessed more than ten plane crashes since its independence in 1962. The deadliest crash occurred in March 2003, where 97 passengers died and one survived when an Air Algerie plane crashed moments after taking off from Tamenrasset airport.