Moroccan Plane Crashes In Afghanistan’s Northern Badakhshan, Casualties Feared

A Moroccan plane on Sunday crashed in Afghanistan’s northern Badakhshan province, local television channel Tolonews reported, citing Zabihullah Amiri, an official of the provincial Department of Information and Culture. The official informed that a team had been sent to the Topkhana area of the Kuran-wa-Munjan district on the crashed plane, he said. Contrary to initial reports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that the crashed plane was not Indian.

“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 ministry stated in a post on X.

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.

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) January 21, 2024

The Civil Aviation Ministry further stated that the crashed aircraft is a DF-10 (Dassault Falcon) small aircraft registered in Morocco. It is not an aircraft of Indian carriers. The aircraft was an air ambulance and was flying from Thailand to Moscow and did refueling at Gaya Airport, according to news agency ANI.

The crashed aircraft is a DF-10 (Dassault Falcon) small aircraft registered in Morocco. It is not an aircraft of Indian carriers. The aircraft was an air ambulance and was flying from Thailand to Moscow and did refuelling at Gaya Airport: Ministry of Civil Aviation pic.twitter.com/hGAwXBI5mb

— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2024

According to news agency Reuters, Russian Aviation Authorities stated that a Russian-registered plane with six people thought to be on board disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan on Saturday evening. The plane was a French-made Dassault Falcon 10 jet. The plane was a charter flight traveling from India via Uzbekistan to Moscow.

ANI also quoted a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official confirming that the crashed aircraft was not Indian. “A plane that crashed in the mountains of Topkhana alongside the districts of Kuran-Munjan and Zibak of Badakhshan province, was Moroccan registered DF 10 aircraft,” a senior DGCA official told ANI.

Casualties are feared as the passenger plane crashed in northern Afghanistan, news agency Anadolu reported citing local media.