Kabul, May 20 (DPA) The wreckage of a commercial airliner that disappeared in Afghanistan with 43 people on board has been located by NATO forces, an official said Thursday.

Search aircraft found and photographed the wreckage in the mountainous region 40 km north of Kabul, said Nangiallay Qalatwal, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.

Rescue teams were being sent to the site to recover the remains, he said.

The plane, operated by the private company Pamir, was flying Monday from the northern city of Kunduz to the capital when it lost contact with air traffic controllers.

It was not clear whether there were any survivors among the 38 passengers and five crew members.