Pakistan Plane Crash: The Pakistan International Airlines flight smashed into a residential area.
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane on Friday crashed near the Jinnah International Airport before landing, according to media reports. Flight PK-303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just a minute before its landing, the report said. A rescue operation is underway.
"The plane crashed in Karachi. We are trying to confirm the number of passengers but initially it is 99 passengers and eight crew members," said Abdul Sattar Khokhar, the spokesman for the country's aviation authority, adding that the flight was coming from Lahore. Mr Khokhar added that the aircraft was an Airbus A320 and was en route to Karachi.
The crash comes as Pakistanis across the country are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.
Here are the Updates of the plane crash in Pakistan:
Minister of Health and Population Welfare has declared emergency in all major hospitals of Karachi after the incident, Dawn news quoted Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator to the Sindh health minister, as saying.
The plane went down in what seems like a densely populated residential area - Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir - just short of the Karachi airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority sources said that its communication with the plane was cut off one minute before its landing. Several houses have been damaged in the area where the aircraft crashed.
The Pakistani army said its quick reaction force and paramilitary troops have reached the site for relief and rescue efforts alongside civil administration.
"The plane crashed in Karachi. We are trying to confirm the number of passengers but initially it is 99 passengers and eight crew members," said Abdul Sattar Khokhar, the spokesman for Pakistan's aviation authority, adding that the flight was coming from Lahore.
