More than 150 people were killed when a private passenger plane flying from Karachi to Islamabad crashed today in the suburb of capital Islamabad. At least 159 people including crew member were on board.
“There are no survivors. We believe all are dead. We are recovering the remains of the dead bodies from the wreckage,” Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of Islamabad’s Capital Development Authority told news agency Reuters.
Two US citizens were on board the ill-fated Air Blue passenger plane, a spokesman for the US embassy said.
One of the youth parliamentarians going to attend the Youth Parliament session is also reported dead.
The plane crashed into Margalla hills in the suburb of Islamabad due to bad weather, according to one report.
The aircraft had lost contact with the control tower during the crash which occurred amid thick fog and heavy rainfall in Islamabad.
The plane was reportedly on a wrong route, it has also emerged. According to published reports, the plane was signaled to land on the runway at a time when it was flying at a height of 2500 feet; however, the plane started to soar higher and reached 3,000 feet after the landing permission.
The pilot Capt Pervaiz Iqbal Chaudhry had retired from the national carrier PIA sometime ago, The News reported.
More than 100 bodies have so far been recovered from the plane crash site.
The plane’s black box was also recovered, the Civil Aviation Authority said.
Raheel Ahmed, a spokesman for Airblue, said to his knowledge, the pilots had not sent any emergency signals.
Airblue flies within Pakistan as well as internationally to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the United Kingdom.
The only previous recorded accident for Airblue, a carrier that began flying in 2004, was a tail-strike in May 2008 at Quetta airport by one of the airline’s Airbus 321 jets.
There were no casualties and damage was minimal, according to the US-based Aviation Safety Network.
The airliner began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, the company said on its website.
The plane that crashed on Wednesday was also built by Airbus, the European plane-maker said.
History of plane crashes in Pakistan
Following is a chronology of major air crashes in Pakistan or involving Pakistani planes:
May 20, 1965: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 707 crashes on its inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 people.
August 6, 1970: A PIA Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board.
December 8, 1972: A PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. All 26 people on board are killed.
November 26, 1979: A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take-off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.
October 23, 1986: A PIA Fokker F27 crashes while coming in to land in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.
August 17, 1988: A US-made Hercules C-130 military aircraft crashes near Pakistan’s eastern city of Bahawalpur, killing military ruler General Mohammad Zia ul Haq and 30 others including Pakistani generals and the US ambassador.
August 25, 1989: A PIA Fokker carrying 54 people disappears after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage is never found.
September 28, 1992: A PIA Airbus A300 crashes into a cloud-covered hillside on approach to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.
February 19, 2003: An air force Fokker F27 crashes in fog-shrouded mountains near the northwestern city of Kohat, killing air force chief Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali, his wife and 15 others.
February 24, 2003: A chartered Cessna 402-B carrying Afghan Mines and Industries Minister Juma Mohammad Mohammadi, four Afghan officials, a Chinese mining executive and two Pakistani crew crashes into the Arabian Sea near the southern city of Karachi.
July 10, 2006: A PIA Fokker F27 bound for Lahore crashes into a field and bursts into flames shortly after takeoff from the central city of Multan, killing 41 passengers and four crew.
July 28, 2010: An Airblue Airbus 321 flying from Karachi crashes into hills outside Islamabad while preparing to land, killing everyone on board. Civil aviation authorities say 152 people were on board while police put the number at 149.
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