Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane crashes just a minute before landing near Karachi Airport.
PIA’s flight PK8303, with 91 passengers and eight crew members on board was flying from Lahore to Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.
The plane crashed in Model Colony Residential Area, a minute away from Karachi Airport. Emergency services have arrived, there are no casualties reported as yet, but many of the people on board are feared dead.
Air Crash Timeline
The plane was just a minute away from landing when it crashed near Model Colony, a populated area of Karachi, only 3.2 kilometres away from Jinnah International Airport.
A PIA Official informed that the air traffic control lost contact with the plane at 14:30 PM.
Soldiers from the Pakistan Army reached the site immediately to initiate and helping rescue efforts. A TV Footage shows emergency workers searching through ruins scattered around Model Colony Streets. Also, many houses were destroyed and demolished.
The Cheif Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, declared an emergency in all the Hospitals of Karachi and ordered them to be prepared for the patients.
PIA Cheif executive Air Vice Marshal Arshad Malik said that the cause of the crash is yet to be determined. Although the Pilot had repeatedly told the Air Traffic Control that the plane is facing some technical issues.
Prime Minister Imran Khan also gave his condolences and said that he is “shocked and saddened” while promising an honest investigation.
The crash happened just after a few days Pakistan resumed the operations of domestic flights after the coronavirus lockdown.
Pakistanis from all over the country were preparing to celebrate Eid, and many were planning to travel back to their homes and villages.
Is Pakistan’s safety record satisfactory?
Pakistan has a checked record of Aviation safety along with several Airline crashes.
In 2010, an Airblue aircraft crashed near Islamabad while taking lives of all the 152 passengers and crew on board – it is considered the deadliest crash in the history of Pakistan.
In 2012, Pakistan’s Bhoja Air’s Boeing 737-200 crashed due to weather conditions while on its way to Rawalpindi killing 121 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
In 2016, A plane of Pakistan International Airlines crashed due to engine failure while travelling from Chitral to Islamabad and took lives of 47 passengers and crew members on board.
