A Russian private jet operating an air ambulance flight from India to Moscow crashed Saturday in a remote mountainous region of northern Afghanistan. Regional authorities reported six people were onboard the aircraft when it went down in Badakhshan province.
The Dassault Falcon 10 jet had been transporting patients on a charter flight from Gaya, India to Tashkent, Uzbekistan and onto its final Moscow destination when it disappeared over rural Zebak district.
Afghan officials dispatched search and rescue crews to the rugged crash area while the Badakhshan police chief’s office confirmed the accident. The Russian civil aviation agency also acknowledged the missing plane was carrying four crew members and two passengers when it lost contact.
Recovery efforts will be challenging given the isolated terrain and winter conditions. The cause of the crash remains under investigation as officials work to locate the wreckage and any potential survivors of the downed Russian jet.