Air Algerie flight that vanished 50 minutes after take-off confirmed crashed as wreckage found in desert Thursday July 24,2014

The fate of the Air Algerie flight which vanished with 116 people on board en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers appears to have been uncovered after Mali's President confirmed wreckage has been found.

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said today Thursday July 24,2014 that the wreckage of the flight had been spotted in his country's desert north.

It is the third major aviation disaster in a week, following the Malaysian airlines MH17 disaster in Ukraine that killed 298 on July 17,2014 and the TransAsia Airways crash in Taiwan where 48 died on Wednesday July 23,2014

The list of passengers on AH5017 includes 51 French, 27 Burkina Faso nationals, eight Lebanese, six Algerians and five Canadians.

Air navigation services lost track of the Swiftair MD-83 around 50 minutes into the flight after the crew reportedly asked to change course over fears it was flying into a storm

The plane, which is operated by Air Algerie, was last picked up on radar at 1.55am GMT en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers

Swiftair, a private Spanish airline, said the plane left Burkina Faso for Algiers at 1.17am GMT and should have landed in the Algerian Capital around 3 hours later,but didm't arrive