Kabul: An Afghan airlines flight on route from Kabul to Urumqi in northwest China was forced to make an emergency landing in Afghanistan's Kandahar City Sunday night following a mechanical problem in the aircraft, officials said.
There were more than 200 people, including five Chinese nationals, on board the Kam Airlines' Boeing-767 flight at the time of the incident.
The plane was on its way from the Afghan capital to Urumqi City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The plane made the unexpected landing due to some "mechanical problem", an official at the Kabul International Airport said requesting anonymity.
The official added that the aircraft will now return to Kabul.
Meanwhile, Kam Airlines president Zamarai Kamgar told Xinhua that it was the Airlines' first flight between Kabul and Urumqi.
"The plane chose to land in Kandahar City because (the) weather condition in Kabul was not suitable at that time," he said.
Authorities in Xinjiang earlier said that the aircraft made the emergency landing due to a bomb threat.
IANS
First Published: Monday, August 10, 2009, 11:07