Passenger plane ‘with 127 on board’ crashes near Islamabad

Nine crew and 118 passengers died in the crash, which investigators believe
was caused by bad weather. Although the pilot had been given clearance to
land the Boing 737 at around 6.45 pm, visibility was described as very poor
with strong winds, lightning and heavy rains.

The plane crashed close to the airfield in an area known as Baria Town on open
ground around nine miles from the runway. Initial reports suggested it had
hit a residential development, but officials said only passengers and crew
were killed in the crash. Television pictures showed emergency and rescue
workers rushing to the scene where eyewitnesses said there were “bodies
everywhere.”

Although investigators believe poor weather was the likely cause of the crash,
aviation experts said the airline had a bad reputation and was regarded as
unreliable. It had begun operations in 1993 but later suspended its business
before reviving it recently with two Boeing 737s. One was earmarked to fly
between Karachi and Dubai and the other Karachi to Islamabad.

Saifur Rehman, a police rescue officer, told Geo News that the plane crashed
in Hussain Abad village, 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,” he said.

Pakistan’s defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhar told The Associated Press
that the plane was engulfed in flames when rescue workers reached the scene
of the crash.

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