(CNN) -- The wreckage of an Air Algerie flight that crashed early Thursday has been found in the northern Mali desert, officials in Burkina Faso, where the plane took off, said on state-owned RTB television.
No survivors were found, according to Burkina Faso Gen. Gilbert Diendere.
Flight 5017 was carrying at least 116 people when it departed for Algeria. It disappeared from radar after diverting from its planned course due to bad weather, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters.
At least 50 of the passengers aboard the MD-83 were French. Mali will lead the investigation into the crash.
French forces, including two fighter jets, helped search for the aircraft, along with Algerian and U.N. personnel in the region, Fabius said.