Plane crash near Islamabad claims 152 lives
Plane crash near Islamabad claims 152 lives
A domestic passenger plane has crashed near Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killing all 152 of its passengers.
The plane had taken off from Karachi and was en route to Islamabad. The aircraft was operated by the private airline Airblue and came down in hills north of the city as it was about to land about 9am.
There is no word on the cause of the crash but at the time the area was shrouded in fog, reports the BBC.
The wreckage was spread across a wide area. Most of the victims are thought to be Pakistani, while two US citizens were also among the dead.
Pakistani TV showed images of smouldering wreckage on a foggy hillside, with helicopters overhead. Police were reported as saying remains were still being retrieved from the forests of the Margalla hills, where the plane came down.
Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the Capital Development Authority, which deals with emergencies, said the crash was "heartbreaking".
"It is a great tragedy, and I confirm it with pain that there are no survivors," he told the Associated Press news agency.
The plane, reported to be an Airbus A321 with 146 passengers and six crew on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 7.50 (0350 GMT), reports the BBC.
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28 July 2010
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