A plane – believed to be an ambulance chartered by Russia – is believed to have crashed in a mountainous province in northeastern Afghanistan, local authorities said on Sunday.
After Afghan police reported a plane crash, Russian aviation authorities announced Saturday evening that a plane with six people on board had disappeared from their radar screen over Afghanistan.
The flight was a chartered air ambulance from India to Moscow via Uzbekistan using a French-made 1978 Dassault Falcon 10 jet, a statement said. It had refueled in India as it had come from Thailand.
The Civil Aviation Authority of India clarified that the plane was not a scheduled commercial flight or an Indian charter aircraft and that it was awaiting further details.
The plane is believed to have crashed in Badakhshan province, which borders China, Tajikistan and Pakistan. However, the exact location of the crash is still unknown, the AFP news agency reported.
“The plane crashed but the location is not yet known. We have sent teams but they have not arrived yet,” said Zabihullah Amiri, head of the provincial information department, without giving further details.
“We were informed by locals in the morning.”
The province is home to part of the Hindu Kush Mountains and Afghanistan's highest peak, Mount Noshaq, at 7,492 meters (24,580 feet).
mk/rc (Portal, AFP)