DUSHANBE, February 13, 2014, Asia-Plus – On Wednesday February 12, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon extended condolences to his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika over the deadly air crash that left 77 people dead, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

Rahmon also asked to convey his condolences and sympathy to families and friends of those killed in the crash and all the Algerian people.

According to international media sources, a military transport plane carrying members of the Algerian armed forces and their relatives crashed into a mountain on Tuesday, killing 77 people, the worst air disaster in the North African country in a decade.

The APS state news agency cited a senior military official, Colonel Lahmadi Bouguern, as saying that 99 passengers and four crew members were on board the C-130 Hercules transport plane, which took off from the southern Tamanrasset province and was bound for Constantine.

The Algerian Defense Ministry said 77 people were killed and said the crash was likely due to bad weather.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika declared three days of mourning from Wednesday.

The crash was the worst in Algeria since 2003 when an Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Tamanrasset, killing 102 people.