ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – A Pakistani passenger plane crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad yesterday, killing all 152 people on board, officials said, in the worst aviation accident in Pakistan.
The Airbus 321, belonging to a private airline crashed into a heavily wooded and hard-to-access hillside while flying from the southern port city of Karachi.
Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said 115 bodies had been recovered so far but bad weather and difficult terrain above the city had hampered search efforts. “Unfortunately, no one survived … Many bodies are not in good shape,” Kaira told a news conference. Twelve bodies had been identified so far, but “the crash was very terrible. There was fire. It’s difficult to recognise the bodies”. Passengers’ remains were badly damaged in the crash and DNA tests would be used to identify the victims, he said.
Two Americans were among the victims, a U.S. embassy spokesman told Reuters. He had no further details.
While thick fog and rainy weather are considered the most likely reasons for the crash, Kaira declined to rule out sabotage and said all possibilities would be investigated.
Kaira said the plane’s “black box” data recorder had yet to be recovered.
The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members.
“The pilot was given directions to land either on runway I or II,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters. “The plane was at 2,600 feet (792 metres) before landing but suddenly it went to 3,000, which was unexplained.”
“If the visibility to the runway was so poor then it should have been diverted.”
Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhatar said the control tower at the airport had been sealed and a team would examine the data recorder and radio traffic between the plane and the tower.
“If you look at the position of the wreckage it’s clear that the plane went beyond safety margins. It should have manoeuvred within five miles of the runway but it did not happen,” said Ejaz Haroon, managing director of state-run airline PIA.
