Plane crash in northern Afghanistan kills at least 43

May 17, 2010

Officials say an Afghan passenger plane carrying 43 passengers, including six foreigners, has crashed in the mountains of northern Afghanistan.

Authorities say that  went down earlier today while on its way from the northern city of Kunduz to the capital, Kabul.

Rescuers were headed to the presumed crash site near the in the  mountains, north of the Afghan capital; however, poor weather conditions, including fog, reportedly hampered an aerial search.

"This is terrain that is very, very difficult to reach," said Tom Popyk, a Canadian freelance reporter, to the by telephone.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said NATO-led forces had been asked to help locate the plane using pilotless drones. NATO said in a statement that it had dispatched a manned aircraft to the last known position of the missing plane; two helicopters were also en route to the area.

The privately-owned Pamir Airways began operations in 1995. The Afghan airline has daily domestic flights and also flies to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.