Three British nationals are feared dead after a passenger plane crashed in a mountainous area of northern Afghanistan.

Chris Carter, David Taylor and Daniel Saville were among more than 40 people on board the Pamir Airways flight en route from the northern city of Kunduz to Kabul when it came down in the Hindu Kush range.

A spokeswoman for the British embassy in Kabul said: "I can confirm that three British nationals were on board."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We believe three British nationals were on board the Parmir Airways flight en route from Kunduz to Kabul that has reportedly crashed in Afghanistan."

A State Department official in Washington also confirmed that an American citizen was on board.

Afghan authorities initially thought the plane went down near the 12,700ft Salang Pass, around 60 miles north of Kabul.

Nato said it sent a search plane to within four miles of the area, but the US aircraft had to turn back due to dense fog and rescuers were forced to look for the wreckage on foot.

However, officials now believe the plane may have gone down closer to Kabul, possibly crashing about 12 miles out, in the Ghorband district of Parwan province.