New Delhi, India – A medical aircraft carrying six people, including Russian citizens, disappeared from radar over Afghanistan’s mountainous Badakhshan province, prompting a complex search and rescue operation, according to Russian aviation authorities. The plane, a Dassault Falcon 10, was on a medical flight from India, making stops in Uzbekistan and Russia before vanishing from radar on Saturday evening.
The crash occurred in the challenging terrain of the mountainous Badakhshan province, complicating search and rescue efforts. Russian and Afghan officials are coordinating to determine the cause of the crash and locate the aircraft in the high mountains of Badakhshan, which borders China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
Preliminary information indicated that the aircraft had four crew members and two passengers on board. The passengers were Russians, including a seriously ill individual and their spouse, who had arranged for the medical flight from India to Moscow. However, the details regarding the situation on the ground and potential casualties are still awaited as the rescue team has not yet provided any updates.
The aircraft, owned by Atletik Grup LLC and an unidentified individual, had departed from Gaya, India and was en route to Zhukovsky airport near Moscow. Initial reports identifying the aircraft as Indian were denied by India’s civil aviation ministry, emphasizing that the Moroccan-registered plane was operating as an air ambulance and not an Indian passenger plane as previously reported.
In response to the tragic accident, Russian investigators have initiated a probe to determine the cause of the crash, while search and rescue operations continue in the challenging terrain of northeastern Afghanistan. The situation remains critical as efforts to locate the aircraft and understand the circumstances leading to its disappearance continue.