An Afghan passenger plane crashed on Monday in Ghazni province, local officials said, but the number of people on board and their fate was not immediately known, nor was the cause of the crash.
Arif Noori, the spokesperson for the provincial governor, said the plane went down around 1:10pm local time in Deh Yak district, which is held by the Taliban. Two provincial council members also confirmed the crash.
Ariana Airlines, Afghanistan’s national carrier, in a statement on their website dismissed the claim that one of their planes had crashed, saying all their aircraft were operational and safe.
“Ariana planes that have left, have reached their destination and have not crashed,” an official for the airline was quoted as saying by BBC. “The plane that crashed, therefore, doesn’t belong to Ariana Airlines.”
The airline’s statement was backed by two officials from Ghazni province, who said the crashed aircraft appeared to belong to a foreign company, and not to state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines as previously believed.
“There is no exact information on casualties and name of the airline,” Ghazni provincial governor Wahidullah Kaleemzai told private broadcaster TOLOnews.
Dozens of private entities operate planes and helicopters across Afghanistan to move military contractors and aid.
A senior defence official in Kabul said no United States or Nato forces’ flight had crashed.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group was checking on reports of the plane crash. The Ghazni province is partly controlled by the Afghan Taliban.
The last major commercial air crash in Afghanistan occurred in 2005 when a Kam Air flight from western Herat to the capital Kabul crashed into the mountains as it tried to land in snowy weather.
