152 dead after Pakistan passenger plane crashes in remote hills during heavy rain

Crash: Rescuers sift through the wreckage of the A321 Airbus which crashed in hills outside the Pakistani capital Islamabad this morning


An airliner crashed in Pakistan on its approach to an airport yesterday killing all 152 on board.

It is the worst aviation accident in Pakistan's history.

The Airblue Airbus 321 was flying from the southern port city of Karachi when it flew into the hills surrounding the capital Islamabad as it came in to land in poor weather.

A rescue official said: 'It is a great tragedy, and I confirm it with pain that there are no survivors.'


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Rescue mission: Pakistani helicopters fly over smoke and wreckage of the plane in the Margalla Hills. At least 45 bodies have so far been recovered


Grief: Pakistani women mourn their father after his death in the plane, which was carrying 152 people


The government declared today a national day of mourning as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani 'expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic incident'.

As condolences poured in from the U.S., Britain and other nations, hundreds of people showed up at Islamabad's largest hospital and the airport seeking information on loved ones.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The plane left Karachi at 7.45am for a two-hour scheduled flight to Islamabad.

Airblue is a private service based in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and the flight was believed to be carrying mostly Pakistanis.

Rescuers scouring the heavily forested hills found 50 bodies in the wreckage by mid-morning.

'The plane was about to land at the Islamabad airport when it lost contact with the control tower, and later we learned that the plane had crashed,' said a spokesman.


Victims: This entire family perished in the crash (clockwise L-R) Zawwar, Muskaan, Arbaz and their parents Rizwan and Amber Ghani




Wreckage: A rescue worker searches for survivors among the debris of the aircraft, which was en route to Islamabad from Karachi


Tragedy: Bad weather is thought to be the cause of the crash


Heartache: Relatives gather at Jinnah International Airport, as they wait for updates on the fate of their relatives


At the Islamabad airport, hundreds of friends and relatives of those on board the flight crowded ticket counters desperately seeking information. A large cluster of people also surrounded a passenger list posted near the Airblue counter.

The Pakistan Airline Pilot Association said the plane appeared to have strayed off course, possibly because of the poor weather.

An airline spokesman said an investigation would be launched. The plane was no more than eight-years-old, and it had no known technical issues and the pilots did not make any emergency calls

The last major plane crash in Pakistan was in July 2006 when a Fokker F-27 twin-engine aircraft operated by Pakistan International Airlines slammed into a field on the outskirts of the central city of Multan, killing all 45 on board.

Airblue flies within Pakistan as well as internationally to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the United Kingdom.

The Airbus 320 family of medium-range jets, which includes the 321 model that crashed today, is one of the most popular in the world, with about 4,000 jets delivered since 1988.

Twenty-one of the aircraft have been lost in accidents. The deadliest was in 2007 in Sao Paolo by Brazil's TAM airline, in which all 187 people on board perished, along with 12 others on the ground.

The army said it was sending special troops to the area to help out along with helicopters.


Islamabad crash scene: The Airblue plane had 152 people on board


City police chief Bani Amin said police were informed of a loud explosion and fire sweeping through the hills that dominate the Islamabad skyline, before confirmation that a passenger plane had crashed.

'The site of crash was inaccessible. We have sent teams. It is a forest. Rescue teams have been sent. Helicopters have also been deployed. It is difficult to take out each and everybody immediately,' he said.

Pakistan enjoys a relatively good aviation safety record.


Explosion: A helicopter flies over the wreckage of the plane which crashed into a ball of flame



source: dailymail