UNMIK/PR/86
PRISTINA – A United Nations World Food Programme plane flying from Rome with 21 passengers and three crew members on board disappeared this morning shortly before it was due to land in Pristina, Kosovo, at 11:30 a.m.
The last contact with the pilot was at 11:15 a.m. At 12:13 p.m. the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen. At that time the aircraft was near Vucitrn, about 20 km northwest of Pristina.
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and KFOR later received conflicting information that the flight had been diverted to Tirana, information which was proven inaccurate in the early afternoon.
A search and rescue operation was launched just after 12:13 p.m. Pristina time, using KFOR helicopters, KFOR troops and UNMIK personnel. One Medevac helicopter is standing by.
The search by land is being hampered by the heavy presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Kosovo.
The World Food Programme-chartered aircraft flies daily from Ciampino Airport outside of Rome to Pristina, carrying personnel of UNMIK, UN agencies, and other international aid organizations. The aircraft was an ATR-42, twin-engine turbo propeller aircraft.
