The Pakistan plane crash in Karachi has claimed as many as 97 lives, with two passengers miraculously surviving the deadly crash. The Pakistan International Airlines plane, carrying 99 travellers on board plunged into a densely populated residential area near the Jinnah International Airport. Flight PK-8303 from Lahore crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir on Friday afternoon, minutes before its landing in Karachi. Eleven people on the ground were injured.
A video of the deadly plane crash in Pakistan is going viral on social media. In the video, a plane can be seen coming down crashing to the ground and bursting into flames.
The video, posted on Twitter stated, "CCTV Footage of today’s Plane Crash Near Karachi Airport".
The aircraft wings during the crash landing hit the houses in the residential colony before crashing down. According to a PIA official, the captain informed the air traffic control that he was having problems with the landing gear before the aircraft disappeared from the radar.
The cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed. PIA chief executive Air Vice Marshal Arshad Malik said the pilot had told traffic control that the plane was experiencing "technical difficulties".
The plane came for landing but just before that the pilot said he was going for a go-around. While coming for a second landing, it developed some problems and crashed.
“The real cause of the mishap will be known after inquiry, which will be free and fair and it will be provided to the media,” he said.
Malik said that the entire operation will take two to three days to complete.
Pakistan has set up a four-member board of inquiry to know the cause of the crash.
The flight was coming from Lahore to Karachi after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowed limited resumption of domestic flights last Saturday following weeks of lockdown due to the travel restrictions linked to the COVID-19 outbreak.
This is the first major aircraft crash in Pakistan after December 7, 2016 when a PIA ATR-42 aircraft from Chitral to Islamabad crashed midway.
The crash claimed the lives of all 48 passengers and the crew.
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