NEW DELHI: The ministry of civil aviation on Sunday confirmed the aircraft, that crashed in Afghanistan, was a Moroccan-registered DF-10 (Dassault Falcon), and not an aircraft operated by Indian carriers. This update comes amid initial reports that mistakenly identified the aircraft as Indian.
In an official statement, the ministry said that the DF-10, operating as an air ambulance, had stopped at Gaya Airport in India for refueling, before continuing its journey towards Moscow.
“The crashed aircraft is a DF-10 (Dassault Falcon) small aircraft registered in Morocco. It is not an aircraft of Indian carriers. The aircraft was an air ambulance and was flying from Thailand to Moscow and did refuelling at Gaya Airport,” the ministry posted in X.
In a detailed statement, the ministry addressed the growing concerns and speculations, saying, “The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non-Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan-registered small aircraft. More details are awaited.”
In an official statement, the ministry said that the DF-10, operating as an air ambulance, had stopped at Gaya Airport in India for refueling, before continuing its journey towards Moscow.
“The crashed aircraft is a DF-10 (Dassault Falcon) small aircraft registered in Morocco. It is not an aircraft of Indian carriers. The aircraft was an air ambulance and was flying from Thailand to Moscow and did refuelling at Gaya Airport,” the ministry posted in X.
In a detailed statement, the ministry addressed the growing concerns and speculations, saying, “The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non-Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan-registered small aircraft. More details are awaited.”
This statement comes in the wake of contrasting reports by Afghanistan’s television network, Tolo News, which initially claimed that an Indian passenger plane had crashed in the mountainous region of Badakhshan province.
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Tolo News had reported that the crash occurred in the Topkhana mountains, bordering the districts of Kuran-Munjan and Zibak. Zabihullah Amiri, the head of the department of Information and Culture of Badakhshan, was quoted saying that a team had been dispatched to the crash site to investigate the incident.
The exact reasons behind the crash are still under investigation.
(With inputs from agencies)