Saturday, February 5 2005 18:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kabul: The wreckage of a missing Afghan jet was found on Saturday (Feb 5, 2005) in mountains east of the capital Kabul with all 104 people on board feared dead, an interior Ministry spokesman said.

"The wreckage of the airplane was found an hour ago as a result of joint search operations by the Afghan National Police, National Army, ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and the coalition forces," interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told sources in Kabul.

"The passengers on board might all be dead," he said, adding the wreckage was found 20 kilometres east of Kabul. The area has been blanketed by heavy snow this week.

The private Kam Air Boeing 737 went missing on Thursday (Feb 3, 2005) during a domestic flight from the western city of Herat to Kabul.

ISAF, the NATO-lead peacekeeping force operating in Afghanistan, said it had found the wreckage with the help of a specialised mountain rescue team.

"We have found it at an altitude of 3,000 metres," ISAF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Poulain said.

There were 23 confirmed foreign nationals aboard the aircraft, including six Americans, one Iranian, three Italians, nine Turks and four Russian crewmembers, official sources said.

"Apache helicopters from ISAF spotted the wreckage and a team of mountain rescue specialists is on site," Poulain added.

The spokesman would not comment on the fate of the passengers, saying it was too early to know. Kam Air owner Zmarai Kamgar also confirmed the wreckage of the plane had been found but was not able to elaborate on the fate of the passengers.