Kabul, May 17: A commercial passenger plane with 43 passengers and crew on board has crashed in northern Afghanistan, the country’s Interior Ministry says.
The local plane identified as a Pamir Airways disappeared from radars at around 8 am local (0330 GMT) on Monday.
The airliner was reportedly en route from the northern city of Kunduz to the Afghan capital Kabul.
“I can confirm that an aircraft carrying 38 passengers plus five crew has crashed somewhere in Salang Pass,” Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told Reuters.
The Salang Pass lies around 100 km (60 miles) north of Kabul across the mountainous Hindu Kush region.
According to the minister, some foreigners were also among the passengers.
The cause of the crash is not yet known.
A spokesman for NATO-led forces said search and rescue operations have now been launched.
——–Agencies