ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A Pakistani passenger jet with 127 people on board crashed in bad weather on Friday as it was landing at an airport near the capital Islamabad, officials said.
Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhar told The Associated that the plane was in flames and rescue teams were at the scene.
State television reported that all hospitals in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi were on high alert after the crash.
Sources told Geo TV that the aircraft was a Boeing 737 that flew from the country’s biggest city Karachi and was scheduled to land at Benazir Bhutto International Airport at 6:40 p.m. (9:40 a.m. ET) but crashed just before touchdown.
The Bhoja Airlines flight number B4-213 reportedly went down near an airbase, according to Geo.
(Reuters) – A Pakistani airliner with 131 people on board crashed in bad weather near Islamabad’s international airport on Friday, a civil aviation official said.
The civilian plane, which was traveling from Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub Karachi to the capital Islamabad, crashed about five nautical miles from the airport, said the official, Pervez George, without mentioning casualties.
Television channels showed charred parts of the aircraft strewn across a street in what appeared to be a residential area.
The aircraft was operated by local carrier Bhoja Air. The airline’s spokesman, Jaser Abro, said 116 passengers were on board and up to six crew.
State television reported that all hospitals in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi had been put on high alert after the crash.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/20/us-pakistan-aircraft-crash-idUSBRE83J0XG20120420
From inputs from Reuters and AP
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