An aircraft of unknown origin has crashed in Afghanistan. The aircraft, originally believed to be operated by Ariana Airlines when it came down near the Afghan capital of Kabul. However, later reports show images that suggest it was a Bombardier E-11A, on a mission for the US Air Force. The aircraft is said to have come down in a Taliban controlled area.
Aircraft crashes in Afghanistan
Rescuers are fearing the worst after an unidentified aircraft went down in a remote area of Afghanistan. The aircraft came down in a mountainous area in the Deh Yak district in eastern Ghazni province.
The flight was said to be operated by Afghan state airline, Ariana Airlines, when originally reported by CNBC. In fact, the publication reports Arif Noori, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office in Ghazni city, as saying,
“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.”
However, the BBC is reporting that the airline has denied it is their aircraft. The BBC further says that a spokesman told local media that the jet had crashed due to technical reasons.
Ariana Afghan Airlines denies the government information that their aircraft has been involved in a crash. pic.twitter.com/875DZYBjkL
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 27, 2020
Not our aircraft
Reuters has obtained a statement from the acting CEO of Ariana Airlines, Mirwais Mirzakwal, denying that any of its aircraft are unaccounted for. He said,
“There has been an airline crash but it does not belong to Ariana because the two flights managed by Ariana today from Herat to Kabul and Herat to Delhi are safe.”
UPDATE: Afghanistan airline denies one of its planes crashed in Ghazni province on Monday https://t.co/kMC2EcvZfw pic.twitter.com/I7hgnldsjL
— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) January 27, 2020
Other sources are reporting that Taliban outlets are claiming a US aircraft was shot down in the area.
#Afghanistan: More unofficial Taliban channels are claiming “that a U.S. aircraft was shot down by Taliban in Dahiek district of Ghazni province”. The channels also claim “the area has been sealed by Taliban forces.”
— Asian Intel (@asianosint) January 27, 2020
Reports are also coming in that perhaps there were no civilian passengers on board at all.
The aircraft does not belong to any domestic companies, and that the aircraft has entirely burned and cannot be identitied, the body of a pilot has been recovered who is a foreigner, say #Ghazni provincial governor, Wahidullah Kalimzai. #Afghanistan
— ShamshadNews (@Shamshadnetwork) January 27, 2020
#Update: A resisent of the area in Dihyak district, where the plane crashed said, 2 dead bodies pulled out by Taliban.
This is an army plane, one pilot is stuck in the plane, #Taliban trying to pull him out too. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/o8GuO8X1LI
— Arab News Today (@ArabNewsToday) January 27, 2020
Further images have emerged on social media claiming to be of the downed airliner. If the images are indeed genuine, it looks unlikely that it was a Boeing 737 of any description.
More clear pics of the crashed plane in #Ghazni #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/HNEMzyRv6k
— Himat Khan (@himat900) January 27, 2020
Sources are claiming that this was a Bombardier E-11 which was likely operating on behalf of the US Air Force. There are thought to be no survivors.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as we uncover further details. Please refresh the page for the latest information.
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