ALGIERS, Algeria — He’s the luckiest man on earth.
Algeria’s Ministry of Defense says there was a single survivor after a military transport plane crashed into a mountain in eastern Algeria, killing 77.
The ministry said the C130 Hercules turboprop was carrying 74 passengers and four crew members when it slammed into the snowy mountain Tuesday.
A retired Algerian intelligence official identified the survivor as a soldier who was being treated for head injuries in Algiers.
It was the second time in 11 years that a lone passenger escaped alive from a major plane crash in Algeria.
After radio and radar contact with the flight was lost at 11:37 a.m. local time, three helicopters were sent to find the plane. The ministry said it had slammed into Mount Fortas, 30 miles from the flight’s destination city of Constantine.
Civil defense officials at the scene said the plane broke into three parts and women and children were among the dead.
Military transports in Algeria typically carry not only soldiers, but military families visiting army bases.
The defense ministry blamed the weather for the tragedy.
“Unfavorable weather conditions and storms accompanied by snow in the region were behind the crash,” the ministry said.