Eight people were stranded in a remote area of Afghanistan after their UN helicopter developed engine trouble and made an emergency landing while on a trip to pick up ballot boxes, a UN spokesman said Tuesday. Nobody was injured in the incident three days after Afghanistan's landmark elections, but the three crew members and five passengers were stranded in the snow in the Wakan corridor in northeastern Badakhshan province, Manoel de Almeida e Silva told a news conference. "We have no concerns about their security, although we do have concerns about the very cold temperatures," he said.
Emergency supplies of food, warm clothing and shelter materials had already been dropped and US-led coalition forces would lead a rescue effort Wednesday. "We are confident that this emergency bundle will help them get through the night," Almeida e Silva said. Ballot boxes from some 5,000 polling stations around Afghanistan's rugged landscape were still being taken to eight counting centres after Saturday's vote. |