No survivors as Pakistan plane crash kills 152
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
An airliner has crashed near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board.
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.
Pakistani TV showed images of smouldering wreckage on a foggy hillside, with helicopters overhead.
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).
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."