A passenger plane carrying 83 people has crashed in eastern Afghanistan and is believed to have landed in an area under Taliban control
The aircraft reportedly burst into flames on impact, but no details about casualties has yet been given. There appears to be some confusion over what airline was involved as it was initially reported that the plane belonged to Ariana Afghan Airlines – but they have now denied this. The company have issued a statement saying reports that one of their planes has crashed are “not true”.
An official for the airline said: “Ariana planes that have left, have reached their destination and have not crashed.
“The plane that crashed, therefore, doesn’t belong to Ariana Airlines.”The state-owned airline also released a statement on its website saying all its aircraft were operational and safe.
The plane downed in the remote and mountainous Deh Yak district in eastern Ghazni province while en route to Kabul from Herat.
Arif Noori, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office in Ghazni city, told local media that a team was on its way to the site to investigate.
He said: “A Boeing plane belonging to the Ariana Afghan Airline, has crashed in the Sado Khel area of Deh Yak district of Ghazni province around 1:10 p.m. local time.”
Confusion over the crash continues as Afghan Civil Aviation Authority have now denied reports that a civilian airliner has crashed, BNO report.
Yet local officials have confirmed a plane did crash.
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