BAKU -- An Azerbaijani cargo plane crashed in Afghanistan, killing seven out of nine people on board, the State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan said on Thursday morning.

"An An-12 cargo plane, rented from Silk Way (company) for cargo shipping purposes, crashed in the province of Helmand, Afghanistan. There were an Uzbek, three Ukrainian and five Azerbaijani citizens on board," the administration said in a statement, conforming that seven people on board were found killed.

Afghan officials also confirmed the incident to Xinhua.

According to Azeri local media, the plane was on loan from Silk Way air carrier company to carry out cargo missions in Afghanistan.