A Pakistani passenger plane has crashed in a residential area of the southern city of Karachi on Friday. The aircraft had around 100 people on board, the country’s aviation authority said.
“The plane crashed in Karachi. We are trying to confirm the number of passengers but initially, it is 99 passengers and eight crew members,” said Abdul Sattar Khokhar, the spokesman for the country’s aviation authority. Khokhar added that the aircraft was en route to Karachi from Lahore.
Other sources put the death toll slightly lower. PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said there were 91 passengers and seven crew on board the plane, which lost contact with air traffic control just after 2:30 pm (9:30 GMT).
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Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, speaking from the scene where the plane crashed in Pakistan, said none of the passengers or crew survived.
“The last we heard from the pilot was that he has some technical problem,” another PIA spokesman, Abdullah H. Khan, said in a video statement.
“He was told from the final approach that both the runways were ready where he can land, but the pilot decided that he wanted to do [a] go-round … It is a very tragic incident.”
A senior civil aviation official told Reuters it appeared the plane was unable to open its wheels prior to landing but that it was to early to determine the cause of the crash.
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Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times. This was before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport. Images aired on national television showed clouds of thick black smoke billowing from the site.
It 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.
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