Moroccan passenger plane crashes in Afghanistan

New Delhi, Jan 21: In the mountainous region of Topkhana, of districts of Kuran-Munjan and Zibak in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, a Moroccan passenger plane crashed under distress.

Initial confusion arose when an Afghan spokesperson incorrectly identified the plane as Indian, prompting swift clarification from New Delhi. India's Civil Aviation Ministry refuted the claim, stating, “The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non-Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan-registered small aircraft. More details are awaited.”

The Afghanistan Ministry of Civil Aviation and Transport then released a statement explaining that the plane had deviated from its designated path due to technical issues, emphasizing that its trajectory did not initially traverse Afghan airspace.

According to the statement, "the Russian private jet (FALCON -10) with 6 passengers was heading from India to Tashkent and went out of radar last night around 07:00 PM," based on preliminary information.

Reuters reported quoting Russian aviation authorities that a Russian-registered plane with six individuals on board vanished from radar screens over Afghanistan the previous night, following reports of a crash received by local Afghan police.

The Russian aviation authorities clarified that the plane was a charter ambulance flight, travelling from India via Uzbekistan to Moscow. The aircraft, a French-made Dassault Aviation Falcon 10 jet manufactured in 1978, was designated as a charter ambulance flight and not a scheduled commercial service. The investigation into the crash is ongoing as authorities work to unravel the circumstances surrounding this tragic event.