Death toll in Pak plane crash rises to 97
By Tahir Naseer, Dawn
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane, with an estimated 99 people on board, crashed in Karachi's Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport on Friday.
Sindh health officials have said that 97 people have been confirmed dead, while two survived the crash.
What we know so far:
- Pilot had communicated a technical difficulty to the air traffic control moments before crash
- Plane crashed a few hundred feet away from the runway
- Rescue efforts currently under way; military personnel and rescue workers attempting to retrieve bodies from the rubble
- Both survivors are in stable condition
- 19 victims have been identified
PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said that the A320 Airbus was carrying 91 passengers and 8 crew members from Lahore to Karachi on PK 8303. Eyewitnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near the airport.
“The aeroplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses,” witness Shakeel Ahmed said near the site, just a few kilometres short of the airport, according to Reuters.
Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator for the Sindh health minister, confirmed to Dawn.com that two passengers had survived and were brought to hospitals. She identified the survivors as Zubair and Zafar Masood, who is the president of Bank of Punjab.
"Zubair has 35 per cent burns and is being treated at the [Dr Ruth Pfau] Civil Hospital Karachi, while Masood has four fractures and is being treated at the Darul Sehat Hospital," said Yousuf, adding that both were in stable condition. Moreover, she said that 19 victims had been identified so far.
