Pakistan International Airlines jet with 107 people on board crashes in Karachi

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane with over 100 people on board has crashed in the Pakistani city of Karachi today. The jet crashed in a residential Model Colony district,  located on the outskirts of  Karachi, near Jinnah International Airport.

According to PIA spokesman, the A320 Airbus had 107 people on board and was en route from Lahore to Karachi. He explained there were 99 passengers and eight crew members.

The mayor of Karachi confirmed there were no survivors from the crashed plane. It is not yet clear how many fatalities there were among those affected on the ground, but rescue workers said around 15-20 have been helped out from under rubble, according to the local Geo news channel.

Pakistan’s Dawn website reports that Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has ordered the city’s fire brigades to the crash site to begin rescue operations. The Pakistani army’s quick reaction force has also reached the site to assist rescue workers.

The PIA spokesman said contact with the plane was lost at 2:37am, but that it was “too early to say” what had caused the crash.

According to Geo, PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik confirmed that the pilot of the plane had been told both runways at the Karachi airport were ready for him to land, but a technical fault had caused him to perform a go-around before attempting to land.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims and said an”immediate inquiry” into the crash will begin.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Twitter that he was“deeply aggrieved” over the“devastating” crash, while the country’s Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari called the crash a “national tragedy.”

The crash comes only days after commercial flights began operating again following the COVID-19 lockdown in the country.