65 killed,5 rescued in Islamabad plane crash
BY IFTIKHAR MASHWANI
ISLAMABAD: At least 65 people were killed,5 rescued several injured when a passenger plane, carrying 152 passengers was destroyed having collided with Margalla hills near Pir Sohawa, a mountainous range behind Shah Faisal Mosque, said sources Wednesday.
Airport sources said the Air Blue flight ED-202 took off at 7:50am from Karachi to Islamabad, crashed at 9:50 a.m. due to uneven weather a few minutes before landing after loosing connection with control tower.
"So far, rescue people have recovered at least 45 dead bodies," said Civil Development Authority (CDA) officials.
"Five people have been rescued but they are injured," said Federal Minister Rehman Malik.
Deceased and injured have been shifted to PIMS hospital, said rescue sources.
“The cause of the incident is not known so far,” said Saeed Hasan spokesperson Airblue. “None of the scheduled flights have been cancelled”.
PIA spokesperson asked the passengers' relatives to reach Karachi Airport by 4:00 p.m.
"The seats to the relatives will be provided on the basis of availability," said PIA spokesperson.
Eyewitnesses said people noticed airbus flying at very low altitude near Daman-e-Koh this morning and have crashed due to rough weather.
"There were 146 passengers and six crewmen on board, we are gathering investigation of the incident", said Civil Aviation spokesman Pervez George.
Thick clouds of smoke were witnessed rising from the Margalla Hills.
The rescue teams have been dispatched to the site of the incident.
Three army aviation helicopters are engaged in rescue operation.
An emergency has been imposed in all hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has set up six-member investigative team, headed by Air Commodore Khwaja Majeed to probe the incident.
A heavy fog envelops the heavily forested Margalla Hills this morning and it has been raining for several hours.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered for rescue operation, expressing grief over this tragic incident.
Cabinet has announced one-day mourning over the incident.
The passengers' relatives can call on the given numbers for any query, 021-99071385, 051-903132.
AGENCIES ADD: A commercial passenger plane with 152 people on board crashed in bad weather in hills near Islamabad on Wednesday, and police said they expected few had survived.
At least 20 people were confirmed dead when the Airbus 321, belonging to private airline Airblue, crashed in heavy rain while flying from Karachi. Rescue efforts are continuing, officials said.
Five survivors were pulled from the wreckage and sent to nearby hospitals, said Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the state-run Capital Development Authority, a municipal body.
Rescuers said they had to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, with fire and thick smoke hampering their work. The crash site, on a steep and heavily wooded hill, has no roads, limiting access to pedestrians and aircraft.
"Dead bodies are lying all around and very few might have survived in the accident," Bin Yameen, a senior police official of Islamabad said.
"Bodies are being lifted through helicopters."
The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members.
Bin Yameen said a woman was alive at the scene and crying for help.
"I could hear her cries from the woods. Rescue workers are trying to save her," he told Reuters from the scene of the crash.
A thick blanket of cloud and smoke caused by fire could be seen rising from the crash site. A helicopter hovered overhead and flames licked at trees and what appeared to be wreckage from the plane, television pictures showed.
"We are removing wreckage with our hands. There is fire. There's smoke, which has made the rescue job very difficult," Bin Yameen said.
The crash site is on the Margalla Hills facing Islamabad, about 300 meters (yards) up the side of the hills. Smoke was visible from some districts of the city, and crowds of onlookers lined the streets pointing and watching the smoke rise from the green hills.
"It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office," witness Khadim Hussain said.
Rescue workers were making their way on foot to the crash site with some difficulty. A young man was weeping and being embraced by another man.
The military said it had sent three helicopters to the site and troops had also been moved there.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ordered authorities to control the fire immediately and rescue passengers.
HEAVY RAINS
There had been heavy monsoon rains in the area for at least a couple of days.
Airblue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.
Spokesman Raheel Ahmed said this was the first crash for the airline.
Airbus confirmed one of its planes was involved in the Airblue crash.
"We regret to confirm there has been an accident with an Airbus aircraft and we will provide more information when we have more confirmed data available," said Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath.
At Islamabad's international airport, passengers in the departure lounge scanned the television screens for news.
"I'm not surprised something like this has happened," said Ahmed Fairuz, a passenger awaiting departure. "The weather is just too bad for flying."
Aviation industry sources in Europe said the aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corp, the leasing unit of U.S. insurance giant AIG
Los Angeles-based ILFC was not available for comment and there was no immediate confirmation of these details.
The A321 is the largest of the A320 family of single-aisle jets produced by EADS subsidiary Airbus. This particular type of aircraft, which can seat up to 185 passengers, has been in service since 1994.
Forty-five people were killed when a passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the central city of Multan in 2006.-UNS |
