6 OFWs believed dead in Afghanistan plane crash

KABUL, Afghanistan - Five bodies were recovered Wednesday from the wreckage of a cargo plane, carrying NATO supplies, that slammed into a mountain east of Afghanistan's capital with eight people aboard. Searchers scoured the blackened site high up the mountainside for three other crew members missing and feared dead, said police General ZulmayiHoryaKhail. Six Filipinos, one Indian and one Kenyan were aboard the flight. Kabul Airport Director Mohammad Yaqub Rassuli said all eight were believed dead. The plane went down east of Kabul shortly after taking off Tuesday evening from Bagram Air Field, the main US military base in Afghanistan. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known but weather conditions were clear at the time. Rassuli said the aircraft was carrying supplies for NATO forces. The name of a Filipino pilot on board was mentioned in another news report but has not been confirmed by authorities. GMANews.TV has learned that the pilot is from Lipa, Batangas, but is withholding the name pending confirmation and notification of next of kin. Hundreds of Afghan security forces in fatigues carrying M-16 rifles gathered at the bottom of the mountain Wednesday. Smoke could be seen rising from the scattered wreckage. The plane, owned by United Arab Emirates-based TransAfrik, was under contract by the US-based company National Air Cargo. NATO earlier said the plane was an L-100 Hercules aircraft, the civilian equivalent of a military C-130. "The company has confirmed that a TransAfrik L-100 aircraft flying from Bagram to Kabul went down shortly before 8 pm (1530 GMT)," National Air Cargo said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the crew and their families." – HS, APTN