Crashed Afghan plane: Recovery operation underway

NATO and Afghan troops today began an operation to recover the bodies of 104 people killed in the crash of an Afghan airliner, 10 days after it smashed into a mountain in a snowstorm.

The first clear weather in nearly a week allowed helicopters to ferry NATO de-miners and mountain troops as well as Afghan soldiers to the snow-covered peak 20 miles east of the capital, Kabul, said Lt. Gen. Ethem Erdagi, the NATO force’s Turkish commander.

However, the teams were flown out again before dusk without success.

“We were searching and looking but unfortunately we couldn’t find any bodies today,” said Maj. Gen. Mohammed Moeen Faqir. “It was very, very cold and there is a lot of snow, but we will try again tomorrow.”

The Boeing 737 crashed into the mountain top east of Kabul on on February 3 after approaching the capital in a blizzard from the western city of Heart.

Authorities have declared all 96 passengers and eight crew dead, including more than 20 foreigners, in the country’s worst air disaster. However, bad weather has allowed only a brief inspection of the crash site.

The Afghan Defence Ministry says its troops plan to erect a tent on the mountain top to house the remains before they can be flown out from a helipad to be built by NATO military engineers.

The Afghan government says the cause of the crash remains a mystery and have called in US experts to help investigate. The plane’s flight recorder has yet to be located.

The Afghan transport minister has said the plane disappeared from radar screens shortly after it was cleared to land in Kabul, though the private airline, Kam Air, says the pilot had turned away from the capital to seek an easier landing in Pakistan.

Officials say the wreckage lies scattered in deep snow at an altitude of about 3,000 metres, and that it could take weeks to collect the bodies. The plane crashed near an old military lookout which is believed to be mined.