KABUL — A cargo plane contracted by a U.S.-based company crashed into mountains east of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Tuesday, with initial reports saying all eight people aboard were killed, an Afghan airport official said.
The plane was flying from Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan, when it went down east of the capital about 8 p.m., Kabul Airport director Mohammad Yaqub Rassuli said. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known. Weather conditions were clear at the time.
Rassuli said all eight crew members were believed dead, although NATO and Afghan troops were continuing with their search-and-rescue mission. The identities and nationalities of those aboard was not revealed.
The plane was owned by United Arab Emirates-based TransAfrik, under contract from the U.S.-based company National Air Cargo, said NATO spokesman James Judge. The Associated Press
