Update – July 25, 11:46 a.m. ET
The wreckage of the Air Algerie flight that disappeared early Thursday over northern Mali has been found. France and Burkina Faso released these photos from the scene of the AH5017 crash site.
The plane went down near the northern Mali region of Gossi.
While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, investigators at the scene say the plane disintegrated upon impact and did not break apart in the sky. This suggests the plane wasn't the victim of a terrorist attack.
Weather remains the likely culprit for the crash.
The French government on Friday revised the number of passengers from 116 to 118. There were no survivors.
The MD-83 jet was initially thought be carrying 116 people when it disappeared about an hour after taking off at 1:17 a.m. from Ouagadougou, the capital of the west African nation Burkina Faso, the Associated Press reports. However, the figure has since been revised to 118 by the French Elysée Presidential Palace, according to France 24.
The plane was en route to Algiers and should have arrived at 5:10 a.m. local time.
Shortly before disappearing, the plane's pilots sent a message to Niger air control about changing their route due to heavy rain.
Weather at time of #AH5017 loss. Storm on flightpath: Clouds all rising above 40,000ft @eumetsat @thatjohn @RAeSTimR
On Friday morning, French President Francois Hollande said the black box recorder from the flight had been recovered.
The French Elysée Presidential Palace tweeted a quote from Hollande saying, "Thanks to help from Burkina Faso, and then from our drone, we were able to locate the debris."
#AH5017 : « Gr aux Burkinabés [...] et ensuite à notre drone, l𠆚vion a pu être identifié » http://t.co/ItQGufqNVh
France sent a military detachment Thursday night to secure the crash site.
The discovery of the missing plane came after a long string of rumors and conflicting reports. Earlier Thursday, Mali president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita told reporters the crash site has been found between the northern villages of Aguelhoc and Kidal. Then later, Burkina Faso Gen. Gilbert Diendéré — who coordinated his government's response — told the New York Times the wrecked plane had been discovered roughly 60 miles south of Gao, Mali.
The Ouagadougou Airport announced Thursday afternoon that the wreckage was located between Gao and Kidal in "a very inaccessible desert area."
Even as the rumors trickled in the French government had vowed to continue its search.
Searchers found no surivors, Diendéré told the New York Times. "Someone saw the plane fall and alerted us, so we sent a mission there that went to the spot. But we couldn't examine the wreck because night was falling."
Malian state TV reported that wreckage also turned up in the village of Boulikessi, according to the AP. Reporters spoke with Sidi Ould Brahim — a Tuareg separatist who traveled in the region Thursday — who said "the plane was burned, there were traces of rain on the plane, and bodies were torn apart."
Swiftair — a Spanish company that was leasing the plane to Air Algerie — released a manifest with the breakdown of nationalities. Nearly half were from France.
One Mali, 1 Belgium, 2 Luxembourg, 5 Canada, 24 Burkina Faso, 50 France, 4 Germany, 1 Nigeria, 1 Cameroon, 8 Lebanon, 1 Egypt, 1 Ukraine, 1 Romania, 1 Switzerland, and 3 pending verification.
Spanish newspaper El Pais says all six of the crew members on board were Spanish.
The large representation of French citizens aboard the plane prompted President Francois Hollande to call an emergency meeting and later deploy the warplanes.
The region where the plane crashed is a vast desert that has been contested in recent years.
Contrary to initial reports, Mariela Castro — niece of Fidel Castro and a prominent LGBT activist — was not on the plane.
Mariela Castro calls Venezuelan TV news channel to say reports of her death has been greatly exaggerated: http://t.co/ioAEtidNuz
Algeria has already had one major air disaster this year, when a military jet crashed in Oum El Bouaghi province, killing 77 people in February.
Mariela Castro is the niece of Fidel Castro. An earlier version of this article said she was his daughter.