By At least 30 people have been confirmed dead in a Pakistan Passenger Plane carrying nearly 100 people.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane, which was close to landing at the Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, came down among houses, leaving many with severe injuries.
Blackboxnigeria, earlier published that a Pakistani passenger plane crashed into a residential area of the southern city of Karachi.
Rescue workers and local residents pulled people from the debris, as firefighters tried to put out the flames.
“I heard a big bang and woke up to people calling for the fire brigade,” said Karachi resident Mudassar Ali.
PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said there were 91 passengers and seven crew on board the flight, which lost contact with air traffic control just after 2.30pm (0930 GMT).
“It is too early to comment on the cause of the crash,” he said.
Abdul Sattar Khokhar, of the country’s aviation authority, said the Airbus A320 was travelling from Lahore to Karachi.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was “shocked and saddened” by the crash, tweeting that he was in touch with the state airline’s chief executive.
“Prayers and condolences go to families of the deceased,” said Khan.
Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the plane crashed into a residential area minutes before it was due to land.
The disaster comes as Pakistanis across the country are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.
The Pakistan military said security forces had been deployed to the area and helicopters were being used to survey the damage and help ongoing rescue operations, while offering condolences over the “loss of precious lives” in the incident.
Commercial flights resumed only days ago after planes were grounded during a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
