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The plane, a domestic flight from Karachi operated by the private company Airblue, came down in hills just north of the city as it was about to land. There is no word on the cause of the crash. At the time the area was shrouded in fog.
The government has declared Thursday a day of national mourning for the victims. 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 0750 (0350 GMT).
The company and civil aviation officials say there was nothing in conversations between the pilot and the Islamabad control tower that suggests anything was wrong. Although the country’s air industry has been booming, critics say standards have not always kept pace with the increase in services.
Pilots complain they are being forced to fly extra hours which they say leads to fatigue, a claim denied by the airlines. Two Americans were among the victims, a US embassy spokesman said, but gave no further details.
Pakistan’s interior ministry initially said at least five survivors had been taken to hospital, but local officials later said those reports were wrong. The flight data recorder has been found.
Recovery operations are being hampered by bad weather and the crash site, on a steep hill, has no roads.
The BBC‘s Lyse Doucet in Islamabad says helicopters found it hard to land in the midst of heavy fog, and smoke rising from the fire of the wreckage. Aamir Ali Ahmed, a senior city government official, told Reuters news agency: “It’s a very difficult operation because of the rain. Most of the bodies are charred.” Rescue worker Dawar Adnan told Associated Press from the crash site: “I’m seeing only body parts. This is a very horrible scene.” Express 24/7 television journalist Sabur Ali Sayed said: “The plane is totally destroyed, the pieces and parts scattered over a large distance.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
