152 dead in Islamabad plane crash
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A plane of a Pakistani private airliner Wednesday crashed into the Margalla Hills in the Pakistani capital Islamabad and killed all the 152 people aboard.
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Pakistani women mourn their father after his death in a plane crash on the outskirts of Islamabad. A Pakistani airliner carrying up to 152 people crashed in a ball of flames Wednesday into densely wooded hills outside Islamabad amid heavy rain and poor visibility, killing everyone on board. [Xinhua/AFP] |
The Airblue Flight ED-202, flying from the country's southern port city of Karachi to Islamabad, came down in the Margalla Hills at about 9:45 a.m. (local time), aviation officials said.
The Margalla Hills, the foothills of the Himalayas, are a series of small-elevation hills sprawling on the northeast part of Islamabad.
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Shortly after the incident happened, a large number of rescue teams have been dispatched to the crash site.
Rescue teams have so far recovered 105 bodies from the site of the crash, said Major General Nadeem Ahmed with the National Disaster Management Authority, adding that the search operation, which was once suspended due to heavy rains, will continue into the night time. He said rescue teams faced problems due to bad weather.
A statement from the Airblue, to which the crashed plane belonged, said that the plane "crashed during poor weather and thick fog". Islamabad had been receiving heavy monsoon rains over the past two days.
"We regret the loss of lives and are investigating the exact circumstances of this tragedy. This will be presented as soon as possible," said the Airblue statement on its website.
Chief of Pakistan's International Airlines, Ijaz Haroon, said that preliminary investigation suggests that the pilot error may have caused the crash.
Most of the people killed in the plane crash are local Pakistanis. There are two Americans and one Somalian reportedly killed in the crash too. The death of the two Americans has been confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. However, the embassy failed to give further details about the two killed.
The Civil Aviation Authority has ordered an investigation into the crash. A five-member inquiry board has been set up and is headed by Abdul Majid Khawaja, the Chairman of Aviation Safety Investigation Board, Air Commodore.
Aviation officials at the Karachi airport said that the plane was declared fit for flight.
