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PAKISTAN-AVIATION-ACCIDENT
Pakistan passenger plane crashes in residential area
KARACHI, May 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A Pakistan passenger plane with more than
100 people believed to be on board crashed in the southern city of Karachi on
Friday, the country’s aviation authority said.
Images aired on national television showed the Pakistan International
Airlines (PIA) flight had smashed into a residential area, with clouds of
thick black smoke billowing from the site.
“The plane crashed in Karachi. We are trying to confirm the number of
passengers but initially it is 99 passengers and eight crew members,” said
Abdul Sattar Khokhar, the spokesman for the country’s aviation authority,
adding that the flight was coming from Lahore.
Khokhar added that the aircraft was an Airbus A320 and was en route to
Karachi.
The Pakistan military later tweeted that security forces had been deployed
to the area and helicopters were being used to survey the damage and help
ongoing rescue operations.
It comes just days after the country began allowing commercial flights to
resume after planes were grounded during a lockdown over the coronavirus
pandemic.
Pakistan has a chequered military and civilian aviation safety record, with
frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.
In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after
one of its two turboprop engines failed while flying from the remote northern
to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.
PIA, one of the world’s leading airlines until the 1970s, now suffers from
a sinking reputation due to frequent cancellations, delays and financial
troubles. It has been involved in numerous controversies over the years,
including the jailing of a drunk pilot in Britain in 2013.
The crash comes as Pakistanis across the country are preparing to celebrate
the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back
to their homes in cities and villages.
BSS/AFP/MMA/1705HRS