Rescue underway as plane crashes in Islamabad
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Hundreds of people including troops, police, firemen, doctors and local residents are fighting the rains and difficult terrains in the Margalla Hills to rescue the survivors of a plane which crashed in the Pakistani capital Islamabad Wednesday morning.
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The crash site is deep in the mountains and rescue workers had to walk over an hour to reach the site.
So far 40 survivors have been found on the crash site and all the survivors have been given first-aid treatment on the spot and are being shifted to different hospitals in Islamabad. All the hospitals in the capital city have declared emergency following the plane crash.
About 20 dead bodies including the dead body of the pilot have been recovered from the crash site, said sources on the site, adding some of the bodies were still on fire when recovered. One of the dead bodies was reportedly identified as Barak or Barkat. No further details about the killed and survivors.
No Chinese or foreigners have been found on the passenger name list released shortly after the plane crash, sources told Xinhua after talking on the telephone to the Airblue airliner which the crashed plane belonged to.
The tragedy took place at about 10:00 a.m. local time when an airbus 320 of a Pakistani private airliner Airblue, which reportedly carried 152 people including six crew members, crashed behind the mountains of Margalla Hills lying to the northeast of the capital. Among the people aboard the plane there were 20 women and five children, said the Airblue airliner. The plane whose flight number is ED-202 took off from the Karachi International Airport at about 7:50 a.m. local time this morning. It was on the way from Turkey to Islamabad via Karachi. It was reported that the plane lost the contact with the control tower of the Islamabad airport at about 9:43 a.m. local time before the crash.
Two zoo keepers nearby the crash site sold Xinhua that they saw the plane taking very low flight brushing the trees on the ground and the pilots were trying desperately to take the nose up but failed. The landing gears of the plane were on before it crashed, they said.
The Pakistani prime minister has ordered the military to conduct an investigation into the accident immediately following the tragedy.
Large crowds of relatives and friends planned to receive their loved ones taking the flight at the Islamabad airport were shocked upon hearing the news and many of them burst into tears. Some of the relatives of the victims have rushed to the crash site but were stopped by the police who are cordoning off the area.
So far the reason for the crash is not known yet. The black box of the plane has not been found yet. It could be related to bad weather as it was raining heavily in Islamabad when the plane crashed. Many flights coming into Islamabad have reportedly been canceled due to bad weather.
The possibility of terrorism can not be ruled out as the terrorist groups in Pakistan have repeatedly threatened to blow airplanes during the last month or so.
In another development, there were 11 people who missed the plane at the Karachi airport reportedly escaped from the disaster.
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