A Ukrainian plane with seven people on board crashed in the Algerian Sahara in the early hours of Saturday, the Algeria Press Service reported.

A Ukrainian plane with seven people on board crashed in the Algerian Sahara in the early hours of Saturday, the Algeria Press Service reported.

The Antonov 12 cargo plane, which was heading towards Equatorial Guinea, crashed near the borders of Mali and Niger at around 2:00 am (0100 GMT), APS said, citing an official.

It had earlier made a stopover for unspecified technical reasons at the airport at Tamanrasset, an Algerian city deep inside the Sahara, the report added.

Rescuers had found the debris of the plane in a mountainous area in the south but there was no immediate word on the fate of those on board, officials said.