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Afghan plane wreckage found; no sign of survivors

CHENARI, Afghanistan - NATO helicopter gunships found the shattered wreckage of a missing Afghan airliner on a frigid mountain east of the capital Saturday, and officials said they believe none of the 104 people aboard could have survived.

Six Americans were believed to have been on board, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said, double the number previously reported.

Afghan police struggled through deep snow to within sight of the scattered debris, but reported no sign of life beyond scavenging animals and birds, and were forced back by darkness and plummeting temperatures.

"So far we don't think there are any survivors," said Lutfullah Mashal, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior. "The plane is completely destroyed."

The Boeing 737-200, flown by Kam-Air, post-Taliban Afghanistan's first private airline, vanished from radar screens Thursday afternoon as it approached Kabul airport in a snowstorm, sparking a massive search operation for the 96 passengers and eight crew, at least 24 of them foreigners.

Kam-Air began flying in November 2003, and its flights on leased Boeing and Antonov planes are popular with wealthy Afghans and also used by aid and reconstruction workers.

If all are confirmed dead, it would be this war-wracked nation's deadliest air disaster.

Gen. Mahbub Amiri, an Afghan police commander who got as far as the village of Chenari, at the foot of the mountain, said 30 of his men got within a half-mile of the crash site. They saw no bodies among the pieces of plane jutting from the snow, but reported that wild animals and birds had been attracted to the scene.

Three of the American victims had been working to help improve the struggling nation's public health system.

Cristin "Cristi" Gadue, 26, a native of Burlington, Vt., Amy Lynn Niebling, 29, of Somerville, Mass., and Carmen Urdaneta, 32, of Brookline, Mass., worked for Cambridge, Mass., Management Sciences for Health.

"Cristi, Amy and Carmen were vibrant committed young women doing great work," said Jonathan Quick, president and CEO of MSH. "They stood out among the people who worked with them as women of tremendous energy, of tremendous commitment, and women who cared a lot about people less fortunate."

Gadue had been working in Kabul since September 2003. Niebling and Urdaneta were on a three-week visit to Afghanistan and had been scheduled to return to Cambridge this weekend.

"To have women who are that passionate about their work is inspirational," said Stacey Irwin Downey, a senior program officer at the company.

Niebling, originally from Omaha, Neb., was a newlywed on her first field assignment for MSH. Urdaneta, a native of Topeka, Kan., had been with the company for the five years, and had worked to combat AIDS in Africa and to improve health services in Angola. Urdaneta was well known in the global health community for her writing and photography.

Friends said it had been obvious even in high school that Gadue would do something selfless.

"She had a quiet demeanor, but her heart was huge," said Caitlin Falzone, who grew up two doors down from Gadue. "She was always out to help people."

Gadue's father said his only daughter had lived a full life.

"All I can say is the life of my daughter was fully complete," said Mike Gadue, who lives in Burlington, Vt. "Not to say I wouldn't want it much more complete by it being extended, but she's a good example of what can be done. I'm very proud of her.

"For a father to be able to say he has no regrets, that's a big thing," Mike Gadue said. "An important thing."

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 00:23:11]