Afghan and NATO rescuers have found the tail of a passenger plane that crashed in the Hindu Kush mountains with 44 people on board, an official says.
"The international force brought us photographs of the tail of the plane. It was found in the Shakar Dara mountains," said Nangyalai Qalatwal, a transport ministry spokesman.
"We have found the tail with the logo of Pamir (Airways) on it. It was found on the side of the mountain," he said.
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The ageing Antonov 24 turboprop was en route from the northern province of Kunduz to Kabul when it came down in bad weather on Monday.
Three Britons and one American were among the 44 people on board when the plane crashed some 40km north of Kabul.
Cause of crash unclear
Qalatwal said a delegation of officials and rescuers was going to the site where the tail had been located.
The cause of the crash is still unclear.
Snow and fog have hampered attempts to locate the wreckage of the plane and search for any survivors.
According to its website, Pamir Airways was founded in May 1995 and is the oldest private airline in Afghanistan.
Commercial aviation incidents are rare in Afghanistan, where travel by road can be hazardous due to the nearly nine-year Taliban insurgency.
In February 2005 a Boeing 737 operated by private company Kam Air crashed in the mountains on the outskirts of Kabul during heavy snow. All 104 people on board, including two dozen foreigners, were killed.
