The disappeared Air Algerie flight AH5017 has crashed in Niger after flying through violent storms, it has been confirmed.

Algerian television station Elnahar confirmed the plane went down due to bad weather and an Algerian aviation official had told Reuters flight AH5017 had crashed.

The region was badly affected by violent storms and it was earlier said the plane was rerouted while it was flying over Mali.

The plane crashed after passing the capital of Niger and it is presumed all 116 people on board have been killed. The flight was said to have been found near Niamey, the capital of Niger.

There were six crew members, mostly Spanish, and 110 passengers, comprising mainly French people, when the plane went down.

The flight, which departed from the Burkinan capital city of Ouagadougou, lost contact with ground control while it was cruising above Malian airspace and was said to be an hour away from the Algerian border.

The flight was scheduled to land at its destination at about 05:10 local time but there was no communication with the ground, despite officials trying to make contact for six hours.

Air Algerie flight AH5017 took off from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and was heading for Algiers