An Algerian plane crashed on Thursday, killing 103 passengers and crew near Tamanrasset deep in the Sahara desert, Algerian television said. It gave no word of survivors in the deadliest air accident in the African country at least since independence from France 41 years ago. Quoting rescue workers on the scene, the official news agency APS said a Boeing 737-200 of the state-owned national airline Air Algerie crashed after take-off from Tamanrasset at 3.45 pm. It was headed for the capital Algiers. The television said two pilots and four flight attendants were among the dead. There were 97 passengers and an unspecified number of crew on board. ‘‘This was the worst crash in Algeria or involving an Algerian plane since our independence,’’ said a veteran pilot for the airline. Air Algerie declined to comment.
