The wreckage of an Afghan airliner which disappeared from radar screens on Thursday has been located east of the capital, Kabul, Afghan officials say.

Gen Mahbub Amiri said the wreckage was found near Band-e Ghazi - and he did not know whether there were survivors among the 104 people on board.

Turkish, Russian and US citizens are believed to be among them.

The Kam Air Boeing 737 flight from Herat to Kabul vanished amid heavy snowstorms on Thursday afternoon.

It lost contact after being turned away from the airport because of the storms.

There were a number of foreigners on the flight, including nine Turkish nationals, an Italian naval commander, three American aid workers, and an Iranian.

The eight crew included six Russians and two Afghans, a spokesman for Kam Air said.

Kabul and the surrounding area have been hit by freak snowstorms.

Flights out of Kabul have been suspended.

Kam Air is Afghanistan's only private airline. It was set up last year and flies national and regional routes.

PHOTO CAPTION

Several relatives of passengers of an Afghan airplane that went missing stand outside the office of the airlines in Kabul on Saturday, February 5, 2005. (REUTERS)