Red Cross officials in Pakistan say a helicopter with a crew of seven returning home to Turkmenistan after assisting with earthquake relief is missing.
A relief agency official said Sunday the air control tower lost contact with the aircraft Friday as it crossed into Afghan airspace not long after taking off from Peshawar, Pakistan.
The Soviet-era Mi-8 helicopter from Turkmenistan had been chartered by the Red Cross for the earthquake relief effort in Pakistan for the past three months and was returning home after completing its mission.
The official says a search operation is under way to locate the helicopter and crew.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.