Rescuers step up search for crashed Afghan plane
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
SALANG, Afghanistan, May 18 (AFP): Rescuers Tuesday stepped up the search for a plane carrying 43 people, including three Britons and an American, which crashed in the mountains of northern Afghanistan, an official said.
Over 24 hours after the plane lost radio contact over the treacherous Hindu Kush mountains, the prospect of finding survivors appeared difficult as anguished relatives massed at the foot of the mountain-pass near Salang.
The Pamir Airways plane was en route from the northern province of Kunduz to Kabul when it came down Monday over the mountains during poor weather, although government officials say it is too early to rule on the cause of the crash.
"The search operation continues from the air and on the ground," defence ministry spokesman, General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP. "We have not found the site of the crash yet," he added.
Dozens of Afghan police and local residents on Monday began climbing the snow-capped mountains where the plane was believed to have crashed, Abdul Rehman Sayeedkhaili, police chief of Parwan province, told AFP.
Snow, cold weather and the harsh terrain made the search operation difficult, he said, with nightfall forcing a halt to their efforts.
A highway task force, responsible for clearing snow from the Salang mountain pass -- the main road from Kabul to northern Afghanistan -- reported hearing a blast at around the time the plane went missing, Sayeedkhaili said.
Over 24 hours after the plane lost radio contact over the treacherous Hindu Kush mountains, the prospect of finding survivors appeared difficult as anguished relatives massed at the foot of the mountain-pass near Salang.
The Pamir Airways plane was en route from the northern province of Kunduz to Kabul when it came down Monday over the mountains during poor weather, although government officials say it is too early to rule on the cause of the crash.
"The search operation continues from the air and on the ground," defence ministry spokesman, General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP. "We have not found the site of the crash yet," he added.
Dozens of Afghan police and local residents on Monday began climbing the snow-capped mountains where the plane was believed to have crashed, Abdul Rehman Sayeedkhaili, police chief of Parwan province, told AFP.
Snow, cold weather and the harsh terrain made the search operation difficult, he said, with nightfall forcing a halt to their efforts.
A highway task force, responsible for clearing snow from the Salang mountain pass -- the main road from Kabul to northern Afghanistan -- reported hearing a blast at around the time the plane went missing, Sayeedkhaili said.