KABUL, Jan. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Extensive efforts to locate the missing Turkmenistan helicopter and its seven crew have been going on in Afghanistan, an official at the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed Sunday.

The turkman helicopter had been involved in emergency aid work for the earthquake for the past two or three months. (Xinhua/AFP)

    "Still we are searching for the helicopter but so far no information about that," Jessika Barry told Xinhua.

    The MI-8 helicopter, he said, departed from Peshawar of Pakistan on Friday noon but went missing on way to home in Afghanistan's space.

    However, he added that none of the ICRC staff was aboard the chopper.

    At the same time, both International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S.-led Coalition troops also participated in the assistant searching operation in Afghanistan, but till now no information about the missing helicopter.

    It was a chartered chopper used in assisting earthquake-affected areas in Pakistan.

    Afghan authorities have yet to make any comment on the subject. Another transport plane with 12 crew and passengers belonging to the Georgian government crashed north of Kabul late last year. Taliban militants claimed they had shot it down, while Afghan officials rejected the claim as baseless. Enditem