ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (UPDATED) – A passenger plane crashed while trying to land during bad weather near Islamabad on Friday, April 20, police said. The Boeing 737 was carrying 126 people, a senior defense ministry official said.
Asked if there were survivors, the official who asked not to be named, said: “So far there is no good news.”
The Bhoja airline flight from Karachi came down outside Islamabad airport, police official Fazle Akbar said, adding that emergency teams were on their way to the site.
“It was not immediately clear how many people were on board. We have sent teams to get details,” Akbar said.
Saifur Rehman, an official from the police rescue team, said the plane came down in Hussain Abad village, about three kilometres (two miles) from the main Islamabad highway.
“Fire erupted after the crash. The wreckage is on fire, the plane is completely destroyed. We have come with teams of firefighters and searchlights and more rescuers are coming,” Rehman told Geo television.
Plane crashes are relatively rare in Pakistan, where inter-city travel is most efficient by air.
In July 2010, an Airbus 321 passenger jet operated by the private airline Airblue crashed into hills overlooking Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi, killing 152 people on board. – Agence France-Presse
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.