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Russia says four survive charter jet crash in Afghanistan, condition of two others unclear

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Russia’s aviation watchdog said on Sunday four people survived the crash of a charter plane bound for Moscow in northern Afghanistan, citing the Russian embassy there, and it said the condition of two other passengers on board was not yet clear, Reuters reported.

Two Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) provincial officials said four survivors were now with Islamic Emirate government officials who had reached the remote, mountainous site of the crash. They said that two other passengers had died.

The IEA government’s top spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the pilot of the plane was among four who had survived.

“The investigative team of the Islamic Emirate continues their efforts to search for and provide assistance to the remaining individuals,” he said in a statement.

The Russian-registered charter plane with six people on board disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan a day earlier, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Sunday, after Afghan police said they had received reports of a crash, read the report.

The plane was a charter ambulance flight travelling from Thailand’s Utapao Airport in Pattaya to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan on a French-made Dassault Aviation (AM.PA), opens new tab Falcon 10 jet manufactured in 1978, Rosaviatsia said in a statement.

About 25 minutes before the plane vanished from radar screens, the pilot warned that fuel was running low and that the plane would try to land at an airport in Tajikistan, Russian news outlet SHOT reported, citing an unnamed source.

The pilot then reported that one engine had stopped, and then that the second one had also stopped, SHOT reported.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the details shared by SHOT.

India’s civil aviation authority said the plane was not a scheduled commercial flight or an Indian chartered aircraft.

The flight was carrying out a private medical evacuation from Thailand’s Pattaya, a popular tourist destination for Russians, to Moscow, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported, citing the Russian embassy in Bangkok.

“On board was a bedridden patient in serious condition, a Russian citizen, who was transported from one of the hospitals in Pattaya to Russia,” the RIA news agency reported, citing a source at Thailand’s Utapao International Airport.

“She was accompanied by her husband, a private entrepreneur, also a Russian citizen, who paid for the flight.”

Several Russian media outlets said the passengers were a couple from Volgodonsk in southern Russia, Reuters reported.

A manifest list for the plane, published by the SHOT news outlet, appeared to show the crew were also Russian nationals.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case to determine if safety rules had been violated.

The plane’s reported owner, a small Russian firm called Athletic Group LLC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Islamic Emirate-run Afghan aviation ministry said in a statement on X that the plane’s planned route did not include passing through Afghanistan’s air space and that “probably due to technical issues” the plane had diverted from its planned route.

The statement said a ministry technical team was investigating the matter.

Afghanistan police had received reports of a plane crash in a remote, mountainous region of Badakhshan in Afghanistan’s far north, a provincial police spokesperson said on Sunday.

Zabihullah Amiri, a spokesperson for Badakhshan’s provincial government, told Reuters a team had been sent to the location of the crash, a remote area more than 200 km (124 miles) from the provincial capital Fayzabad.

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Ariana Afghan Airlines ranks seventh among 45 Central Asian airlines

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Ariana Afghan Airlines has ranked seventh among 45 airlines in Central Asia in Skytrax’s 2026 rankings.

Company officials say Ariana Afghan ranked eighth on the list in 2025, but moved up one place this year following improvements in service quality and the expansion of its operations.

According to the officials, in 2026 the airline met criteria including service quality, flight safety, professional cabin crew, and experience in the aviation sector, placing it among the top 10 airlines in Central Asia.

Skytrax is an international organization that evaluates and ranks the quality of services in the aviation industry and airlines, assessing and ranking carriers annually based on specific criteria.

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Silk Road highway in Wakhan corridor now reaches the China border

The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.

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The construction of the Silk Road Highway in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor has been fully completed after five years of work, officials in Badakhshan province said.

Amanullah Chehra, head of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in Badakhshan, said the 121.13-kilometre road begins in the Barghil area and stretches to Bzai Gonbad near the Chinese border.

According to officials, the road is between 7 and 10 metres wide and includes three major bridges, each measuring approximately 20 to 22 metres in length. Numerous smaller drainage structures have also been built along the route to facilitate the flow of water.

The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.

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Refugees minister, UNAMA deputy discuss challenges facing returnees

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Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, met on Wednesday with Bruno Lemarquis, UNAMA’s Deputy Head for Humanitarian Affairs, to discuss the situation of Afghan returnees and humanitarian assistance.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said Lemarquis briefed the minister on assessments conducted by UN agencies during visits to several provinces to identify the needs of returnee families.

Lemarquis said joint cooperation between UN agencies and the Islamic Emirate is needed to support and resettle returnees. He added that UN agencies are currently assisting thousands of families and called for the expansion of humanitarian assistance.

He also said the international community should pay greater attention to the needs of Afghans, adding that UNAMA is ready to cooperate in addressing challenges facing returnees.

Abdul Kabir welcomed UNAMA’s support and thanked the United Nations for its assistance to Afghans. He said various government institutions have been tasked with addressing returnees’ needs.

The minister also called on aid organizations to continue supporting returnee families, saying a program to resettle thousands of internally displaced families is also underway.

Kabir further said the necessary facilities have been provided for UN agencies to operate and that the Islamic Emirate welcomes UNAMA’s humanitarian cooperation.

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