No survivors found in wreckage of Afghan plane

BAND-E GHAZI, AFGHANISTAN - Dutch military helicopters on Saturday found the wreckage of an Afghan passenger jet that crashed in a snow storm near the capital Kabul two days ago, killing all 104 people on board.

The crew of the Apache helicopters spotted the tail end of the Boeing 737 plane and other debris strewn across snow-covered mountains above the village of Band-e Ghazi, some 30km southeast of Kabul, Nato-led peacekeepers said.

"There are no survivors from the crash," an Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman said. "We will begin to evacuate and retrieve the bodies."

But an Afghan military helicopter was later unable to land as snow and fog covered the crash site making the mountainous area look like an almost featureless white landscape.

The aircraft, operated by the private Afghan airline Kam Air, disappeared off radar screens three minutes after failing to land at Kabul airport. The airport is located on a high plain surrounded by mountains and lacks electronic facilities to help pilots land in bad weather.

The plane, with 96 passengers and eight crew, was travelling from the western city of Herat, a busy route for Afghan businessmen and foreign aid workers returning Kabul.

Nine Turks, four Americans, an Italian naval captain, two other Italians and an Iranian working for an international non-governmental organisation were among the dead.

Six of the eight crew were also foreigners, four of them Russian, the Russian Interfax news agency said. The plane was leased from a company in Kyrgyzstan.

"Dutch AH-64 Apache helicopters that were searching for the missing Kam Air Boeing 737 found the wreckage at 1.37pm (10.07pm NZT)," said a statement from Nato peacekeepers in Kabul. "The crash site is 3300m above sea level."

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force sent specialist mountain rescue teams to the area.

More than 1000 Afghan soldiers were joined by around 100 Nato ground troops scouring the mountainous, snow-bound area on Saturday while helicopters clattered overhead.

Kam Air opened as Afghanistan's only private airline in November 2003. It flies leased aircraft between Kabul, Dubai and Istanbul and operates several domestic routes.

- REUTERS