UPDATE 2 -- Silk Way cargo plane crashes in eastern Afghanistan, killing 9

[News_Editor]

UPDATE 2 -- Silk Way cargo plane crashes in eastern Afghanistan, killing 9

2011-07-07 07:08:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- Nine people were killed on early Wednesday morning when a Silk Way cargo plane crashed into a mountain in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan and coalition officials said on Thursday. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

The accident happened just after midnight local time on Wednesday when the Russian-made Ilyushin-76 aircraft crashed into a mountain in the Sayagred district of Parwan province at a height of around 12,500 feet (3,800 meters). A total of nine crew members were on board.

It took Afghan rescue workers nearly 12 hours to reach the remote crash site, and few details were immediately released about the accident, which killed everyone on board. Air traffic control said it had lost contact with the Silk Way plane just after midnight when it disappeared from radar.

Major James Lowe, a spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Command, said the cargo plane had been contracted by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "We are very, very sorry and concerned for the families of those lost," said Lowe.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, but ISAF said there were no reports of enemy activity in the vicinity at the time of the accident despite a claim of responsibility by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

The Taliban frequently issues false claims of responsibility for accidents and other events it was not responsible for, and Afghan officials rejected the claim saying it did not match the facts. Mujahid claimed the aircraft was a U.S. helicopter and also said it happened at 10 p.m. local time as initial press reports suggested at the time, although the actual crash took place two hours later.

On October 12, 2010, eight crew members were killed when Transafrik International Flight 662 - a cargo plane - crashed into a mountain near the Afghan capital of Kabul. And on May 17, 2010, Pamir Airways Flight 112 crashed on a flight from Kunduz Airport in northern Afghanistan to Kabul International Airport, killing all 44 passengers and crew members.

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