Overloading Caused Chopper to Crash, Afghanistan Says

The government said Saturday that the cause of a helicopter crash on Wednesday that killed 30 people, including the chief justice and a governor, was overloading, not rebel gunfire as had been initially suspected.

Meanwhile, government troops embraced their rivals as a week-old truce continued to hold. But many residents doubted the calm would last long, and the refugee exodus from the city continued.

The Soviet-made air force helicopter crashed in the mountains of Afghanistan’s northeast Badakhshan province on a flight between the provincial capital of Faisabad and the town of Daraim, about 20 miles to the south, Defense Ministry sources said. There were no survivors.

The area is controlled by Hezb-i-Islami, a renegade rebel faction that opposes President Burhanuddin Rabbani’s government.

Government officials said the Mi-8 helicopter crashed because it was overloaded and poorly maintained. Afghan military sources said this type of helicopter should carry no more than 20 people at high altitudes.

Initially, the government suspected the helicopter might have been shot down by Hezb-i-Islami forces.

The victims included the governor of Badakhshan, Ghulam Mohammed Arianpur, and Abdul Rahman Saif, the chief justice of the Afghan supreme court. Saif was also Rabbani’s cousin.

Hezb-i-Islami and its leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, have challenged the legitimacy of Rabbani’s government, claiming it gained power in a rigged vote in December.

Beginning Jan. 19, Hezb-i-Islami and other dissident rebel factions began shelling the capital, killing as many as 1,000 people and wounding another 6,000.

After almost a month of fighting, the warring sides called a temporary cease-fire on Feb. 13 to allow mediators to broker a permanent truce.