Latest News
Russia says four survive charter jet crash in Afghanistan, condition of two others unclear
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.
Latest News
Islamic Emirate’s army now self-sufficient, says chief of army staff
Mohammad Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, says that over the past four years, the army forces of the Islamic Emirate have shown no hesitation in defending and protecting Afghanistan, and that today the country’s army is standing on its own feet.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, Fitrat made these remarks at a meeting with media representatives, political analysts, and a number of government officials aimed at coordination and strengthening cooperation. He added: “Nations that cannot stand on their own feet and rely on others, even if they grow, will not be capable of achieving real progress.”
Fitrat also expressed appreciation for the role of the media in ensuring security and in supporting the country’s defense forces, stating: “We and you, as citizens of this land, must put our hands together and build the country together, take pride in our forces, and strive with all our strength for the country’s development. We have created an army that defends honor, territorial integrity, and the borders of the country, and serves as the guardian of our freedom.”
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is working to establish an army equipped with modern weapons so that it can defend the country’s territory under all circumstances.
He stated that the country’s army has proven to the people that anyone who looks at this land with ill intent will face a firm and courageous response, and that it has also been made clear to neighboring countries that any aggression against Afghanistan will be met with a response several times stronger.
Latest News
Afghan health minister attends second WHO summit in India
Noor Jalal Jalali, the Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate, participated in the second World Health Organization meeting on traditional medicine during his official visit to India.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health said that the meeting was held in India with the participation of representatives from around 100 countries, health ministers from 23 countries, professional experts from various nations, and officials from different departments of the World Health Organization.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the standardization of traditional medicine, training of individuals active in this field, recognition of traditional medicine as an established reality, and the sharing of countries’ experiences in this area.
The ministry stated that the purpose of participating in the conference was to standardize traditional medicine in Afghanistan, adding that for several decades this sector has been practiced in a non-standard manner and without a defined curriculum or clear principles.
Latest News
Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan boost trade and digital finance ties
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, Abdul Salam Hanafi, has met with a high-level Kyrgyz delegation led by Minister of Economy and Commerce Bakhyt Sydykov to discuss expanding bilateral trade and strengthening cooperation in digital financial services.
During the meeting, Hanafi reaffirmed Afghanistan’s readiness to deepen ties with Kyrgyzstan, stressing the importance of developing electronic administration systems and modern banking channels to facilitate trade and financial transactions between the two countries.
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives. He also pointed to potential cooperation in areas such as the printing of securities and the development of electronic payment systems.
-
Latest News5 days agoUS delivers second batch of Afghan Black Hawk helicopters to Peru
-
Latest News4 days agoGermany speeds up admission of Afghans from Pakistan
-
Sport4 days agoIPL 2026 Auction set for Abu Dhabi with $28.6 million purse at stake
-
Business4 days agoAfghan economy posts second year of growth despite deep structural challenges
-
Latest News4 days agoAfghanistan to establish independent oil and gas authority
-
Sport4 days agoATN to broadcast ‘The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025’
-
Latest News4 days agoUS intelligence chief warns of ‘direct threat’ from suspected terrorists inside the country
-
International Sports5 days agoILT20: Jahangir powers Dubai Capitals to nine-run win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
