A Russian plane carrying six people is feared to have crashed in a remote area of northern Afghanistan, after losing contact with air traffic control on Saturday night. The plane was a medical charter flight returning from India to Moscow, via Uzbekistan, on a 43-year-old French-made Falcon 10 jet.
According to Russian aviation authorities, the plane disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan, where the security situation is volatile and the terrain is rugged. Local Afghan police said they had received reports of a plane crash in Badakhshan province, but they had not been able to reach the site due to bad weather and lack of roads.
India’s civil aviation authority said the plane was not a regular commercial flight or an Indian-operated aircraft, and that it was waiting for more information from the Afghan authorities. The Afghan police spokesperson said there was no confirmation on the type of plane, the cause of the crash or the number of casualties.
The incident has raised questions about the purpose and the passengers of the plane, as well as the safety and the legality of flying over a war-torn country. The Russian embassy in Kabul said it was in contact with the Afghan government and the international forces to find out more details about the missing plane.