SALANG PASS, Afghanistan — Dense fog hindered rescuers who fanned out across mountainous terrain Monday to search for the wreckage of an Afghan passenger plane that vanished with 44 passengers on board. There was no immediate word of casualties.
After receiving tips from local residents who heard a loud bang, Afghan authorities rushed to the Salang Pass, a major route through the Hindu Kush mountains that connects the capital to the north.
Late Monday night, they said they suspected the plane may have gone down farther south, closer to its destination of Kabul International Airport.
The plane, operated by Pamir Airways, a private Afghan airline, was traveling from Kunduz in northern Afghanistan to the capital.
Myar Rasooli, the head of Kabul airport, said air-traffic controllers’ last contact with the plane was when it was about 55 miles north of Kabul. He said there was no distress call from the plane.
The British Embassy in Kabul confirmed that three British citizens were aboard the plane but did not identify them. One American also was aboard, according to a State Department official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity pending notification of family. The nationalities of the two other foreigners were not immediately available.
Six crew members were among the 44 aboard, according to Deputy Transportation Minister Raz Mohammad Alami, who traveled to the suspected crash site with the minister of aviation and other top government officials.
Ismail, a 35-year-old snowplow driver who lives in a village near the pass, said he was taking a morning break when he heard the sound of a crash.
“It was as if there was an accident of two vehicles. I didn’t know what it was,” said Ismail, who goes by one name.
NATO helicopters were on standby at Bagram Air Field and at the Kabul airport to assist in any rescue effort, NATO said in a statement.
The Afghan Defense Ministry also ordered the nation’s air force to be on standby. Ambulances were dispatched to the pass.
