KANDAHAR, April 24: Five people were killed and 10 injured when a plane leased to US anti-drugs agents crashed while landing and hit a nomad camp in southern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said.
Another five people were missing after the accident, which happened when the pilot pulled up to avoid a truck that drove on to the runway in Lashkargah, a coalition spokesman said.
The Russian-built Antonov 32 could not regain enough speed to stay airborne and smashed into the mud-brick homes and tents at the end of the landing strip, Canadian military spokesman Major Quentin Innis said.
Two of the 16 people on board the twin-engined transport plane died and eight others were medically evacuated by helicopter to the southern city of Kandahar, Major Innis said. He did not give their nationalities or identities.
Three Afghan civilians on the ground were killed and two were injured when the plane hit their houses and tents at the end of the runway, he added.
Five people on the ground were still missing, he added.—AFP
