A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said, without confirming reports six people on board were taken hostage by the Taliban. 

"Six people were boarding it but we are unaware of their fate," senior government official based in Lahore told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the governor of Azra district, Hamidullah Hamid, said six people on board had been taken hostage by Taliban insurgents and taken to an unknown location.