Islamabad:
155 people were killed this morning when a plane crashed on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, in what is the country's worst air disaster.
The passenger plane, an Airbus A321, operated by private airline AirBlue, was headed from Karachi to Islamabad. It went up in a haze of flames and white smoke close to 10 am in the heavily-forested Margalla Hills overlooking Islamabad. It was raining heavily in the region this morning and that, along with thick fog and the smoke from the crash made it tough for rescue helicopters to reach the crash site. Rescue officials had to trek for close to an hour to reach the area.
Rescue officials reported that the plane's debris was spread over a huge area, and that dead bodies- charred beyond recognition -were strewn around the forest.
"I heard a loud bang and then saw smoke rising over the Margalla Hills," said Aman Ali, a schoolboy. (Watch: 'Plane was flying low')
The plane was reportedly ready to land, as scheduled, at 9.30 am when the pilot was told he'd have to wait because of heavy traffic at the Islamabad airport.
Hafiz Khalid Zaheer said he rushed from Islamabad to the crash site as soon as he heard about the tragedy. "I came running here, and then went away. I had a friend with me, but I do not know where he is now, but thank Allah I was able to leave...dead bodies are strewn all over, as well as people's belongings," he reported. (Pak crash victim: I heard people shouting 'Allah'!)
Pakistani civil aviation officials say the black box of the plane has been recovered. It will be crucial in explaining why the plane crashed. Pakistan's Prime Minister has ordered a probe to rule out sabotage.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the aircraft was at 2,600 feet when it was cleared to land. It then rose up to 3,000 feet before disappearing from radar screens, he said."We will need to study the black box to ascertain the exact cause of the crash. The (control) tower did not receive any SOS message or report of a technical problem before the crash," Malik explained.
Airline officials deny any technical fault. They claim the plane was no more than eight years old.
The passenger plane, an Airbus A321, operated by private airline AirBlue, was headed from Karachi to Islamabad. It went up in a haze of flames and white smoke close to 10 am in the heavily-forested Margalla Hills overlooking Islamabad. It was raining heavily in the region this morning and that, along with thick fog and the smoke from the crash made it tough for rescue helicopters to reach the crash site. Rescue officials had to trek for close to an hour to reach the area.
Rescue officials reported that the plane's debris was spread over a huge area, and that dead bodies- charred beyond recognition -were strewn around the forest.
"I heard a loud bang and then saw smoke rising over the Margalla Hills," said Aman Ali, a schoolboy. (Watch: 'Plane was flying low')
The plane was reportedly ready to land, as scheduled, at 9.30 am when the pilot was told he'd have to wait because of heavy traffic at the Islamabad airport.
Hafiz Khalid Zaheer said he rushed from Islamabad to the crash site as soon as he heard about the tragedy. "I came running here, and then went away. I had a friend with me, but I do not know where he is now, but thank Allah I was able to leave...dead bodies are strewn all over, as well as people's belongings," he reported. (Pak crash victim: I heard people shouting 'Allah'!)
Pakistani civil aviation officials say the black box of the plane has been recovered. It will be crucial in explaining why the plane crashed. Pakistan's Prime Minister has ordered a probe to rule out sabotage.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the aircraft was at 2,600 feet when it was cleared to land. It then rose up to 3,000 feet before disappearing from radar screens, he said."We will need to study the black box to ascertain the exact cause of the crash. The (control) tower did not receive any SOS message or report of a technical problem before the crash," Malik explained.
Airline officials deny any technical fault. They claim the plane was no more than eight years old.
