In the Badakhshan region of northern Afghanistan, a passenger plane headed for Russia has crashed, an official was stated by Afghan television channel TOLOnews on Sunday.

The plane crashed on Saturday night in Kuran-wa-Munjan district's hilly Topkhana area, "obviously due to a technical problem," according to Zabihullah Amiri, the provincial director for information and culture of Badakhshan.

The official said that a crew has been dispatched to the scene to locate the downed aircraft.

Spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture Abdul Wahid Rayan stated on social media that the little plane looked to have an engine issue when it was in route to Moscow.

A jet carrying two passengers and four crew members vanished off a radar screen in Afghanistan's airspace on Saturday night, according to reports from Russian aviation authorities.

The inclement winter weather and rugged terrain of Badakhshan pose challenges for rescuers trying to get to the crash scene.