KARACHI, Pakistan
At least eight people were killed as a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane with 107 passengers onboard crashed in southern port city of Karachi on Friday, officials and local media reported.
The flight PK-8303, travelling from northeastern Lahore city crashed near Jinnah International Airport while landing, the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed in a statement.
Dr. Seemi Jamali, the executive director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, said eight people — including two women — were killed in the crash.
According to the Health Department, 15 people were also injured.
An official who chose anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that “many” are feared dead.
Earlier, rescue sources said two bodies, including that of a child, have been pulled out of the wreckage.
The crash occurred days after resumption of domestic flights following lifting of a month-long lockdown imposed o curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Abdullah, the PIA spokesman, told reporters that it would be early to comment on the possible causes of the crash. “The plane was not old, and (was) well-maintained,” he said.
Mayday call
The last contact between the pilot and the control tower aired on Geo TV suggested that the crash was result of an engine fault.
“I have lost the engine,” pilot Sajjad Gul was heard telling the control tower in a Mayday message.
Gul’s last word was “roger” in response to the control tower’s directive that two runways are open for emergency landing.
Footage aired on local broadcaster Geo News showed clouds of smoke billowing upwards from the burning wreckage of the ill-fated plane. Several vehicles also caught fire.
The plane fell on a residential area damaging several houses, and vehicles.
“The plane came down so fast. I could not understand at the first moment what was happening,” Rana Jawed, an eyewitness told reporters.
The plane, he said, had caught fire before it fell down following a “deafening explosion”.
Honking ambulances, and fire brigade vehicles were seen rushing to the scene, where crowds of area residents already gathered.
Army, and police personnel also reached the site to assist the rescue operation as narrow streets hampered the movement of rescue vehicles.
Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed grief over the loss of lives in the crash.
“Shocked, and saddened by the PIA crash. [I] Am in touch with PIA CEO Arshad Malik, who has left for Karachi, and with the rescue, and relief teams on ground as this is the priority right now. Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased,” Khan said in a twitter post.
A PIA plane had crashed on the foothills of northwestern Chitral city killing all 48 passengers onboard in December 2016.
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