Pak plane crashes in bad weather, all 152 killed
July 28: All 152 people on board were killed as the passenger plane of a private Pakistani airline crashed on the outskirts of Islamabad on Wednesday, officials said. The Airblue flight AB-321, with 152 people on board, crashed when it had barely entered Islamabad. The plane was on its way from Turkey to Islamabad via Karachi.
“All people on board were killed. We don’t see anyone surviving,” a senior police official told this newspaper. He added, “So far around 100 dead bodies including that of the pilot have been recovered from the crash site.” Another official claimed five people have survived and have been shifted to the hospital. Interior minister Rehman Malik had also confirmed the report. The plane bound for Islamabad took off from Karachi at 7.45 am (local time) and crashed at 9.45 am behind the mountains of Margalla Hills lying to the northeast of the capital city.
“The airport control tower had signalled landing approach to the plane when it was just eight km away from the airport. The search for black box is underway,” an official said.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani expressed grief over the tragic incident. The government has announced a day of national mourning. A Cabinet meeting was also called off until next week. Interior minister Rehman Malik said that a large scale relief and rescue operation is underway to assist the victims of the tragedy. Mr Malik said that Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari have sent their helicopters to assist the relief and rescue operations. He said that a crisis management cell has been constituted to coordinate the operation efficiently. Mr Malik added that the rescue and aid efforts are being hampered due to poor weather condition.
Air Blue Operations official, W. Hameed Mirza said that there were 152 passengers on board the plane. Among the passengers six were crew members. The Inter Services Public Relations officials said that three Army helicopters are engaged in the rescue work.
Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Imtiaz Inayatullah said the dead bodies have been sent to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. He said among the passengers were five children, two infants and six crew members. Eyewitnesses said people noticed airbus flying at very low altitude near Daman-e-Koh and soon they heard a loud explosion and smoke coming out from the site. Officials said that due to loss in contact with the plane the pilot could not have known about the weather in Islamabad.
Rescue officials said pieces of charred flesh and body parts were littered around the smouldering wreckage, partially buried on a remote hillside following Pakistan’s first major aviation accident in four years.
Anguished families were in tears after hearing of the disaster while waiting at the arrivals terminal where they had intended to meet their relatives.
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