PIA plane crashes near Karachi airport

KARACHI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane crashed in a residential area near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Friday less than a minute before landing.

It is estimated that 97 people were aboard the plane, including 85 passengers and 12 members of the flight crew.

CASUALTIES

Jinnah Hospital has said that several injured have been brought to their facility. One of them was badly burned and has been shifted to the burn ward of the hospital.

Among the injured are women, men, and a seven-year-old boy.

They are said to be residents of the area where the crash took place.

MAYDAY DISTRESS SIGNAL SOUNDED

PIA chief executive Air Marshal Arshad Malik said that the pilot, in his last words, had said that there was a technical fault with the aircraft. “The pilot was told that both runways were ready for him to land. However, the pilot decided to do a go-around. Why did he do that, due to what technical reason, that we will find out,” he said, before hopping on a plane to Karachi.

CAA sources said that its communication was cut off with the plane a minute before it was supposed to land. According to the audio, shared widely on social media, the pilot can be heard saying “we have lost engine” as he puts out a may day alert.

According to the mayday alert, shared widely on social media, the pilot can be heard saying “we have lost engine” as he puts out a may day alert.