Pakistani Airline Crashes In Residential District – 97 Confirmed Dead

APakistan International Airlines Airbus jet crashed into a crowded Karachi neighbourhood yesterday afternoon, according to the eyewitness, after trying to land twice at the airport.

97 deaths have been confirmed by provincial health authorities, but it is not clear whether they included victims on the ground.

According to a government spokesperson, 2 passengers survived, including Zafar Masood, President of the Bank of Punjab. The bank claims that he has sustained injuries, but “consciously responds well.”

The other survivor, Engineer Muhammad Zubair, told reporters that the pilot arrived at the first landing, touched down briefly, but took off. He announced he would make a second attempt after another ten minutes in the air, but crashed as he approached the runway.

“All I could see around was smoke and fire. I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was fire. I couldn’t see any people, just hear their screams.”

“I opened my seat belt and saw some light. I went towards the light. I had to jump down about 10 feet to get to safety.”

This crash took place on the eve of the Mubarak Muslim Oath Festival, at the end of Ramadan Holy Month, when Pakistanis visit relatives. Smoke rushed out at approximately 14:45 from the place of PK 8303 flight, its twisted fuselage lying in the rubble of multiple story buildings while ambulances hit crowds.

The Airbus A320 flew with 91 passengers and eight crews from Lahore ‘s eastern town to Karachi in the south as Pakistan resumed domestic flights following the coronavirus pandemic.

Seconds before the crash, the pilot told the air traffic controllers, according to a record on liveatc.net, a respected air traffic monitoring site he had lost power from both engines.

SOURCE: Reuters| Nation Thailnd

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