‘At least two survivors onboard’, anonymous aviation officials say

Civil aviation officials have said at least two people survived the crash, AP reports.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Karachi’s mayor had earlier said he believed all those on board had died. 

Here are some images from the scene of the wreckage, which show firefighters seeking to contain the damage and emergency vehicles at the scene. Other images, which we are not displaying here, show those with injuries being helped away from the area.

 

Audio from the communications between flight PK 8303 and the airport’s control tower reveals the pilots warned “we have lost engines” before issuing a mayday call around 25 seconds later.

An anonymous civil aviation official told Reuters that there was “probably a technical fault” behind the crash, but that it remained too early to confirm the exact cause.

Prime minister calls for ‘immediate inquiry’

Here’s footage from the scene taken by a former Geo News editor, showing residents braving smouldering fires and dense clouds of smoke.

Conflicting reports over fate of passengers

Federal Minister Ali Zaidi has confirmed that at least one passenger has been rescued alive from the wreckage.

However, Reuters reports that Karachi’s mayor, speaking at the scene of the crash, says none of the 107 passengers and crew have survived.

Concerned family members seek answers at airport in Lahore

PIA has set up a counter at Allama Iqbak International Airport Lahore and at Jinnah International Airport Karachi for families.

A large number of people are the airport in Lahore to inquire about their family members onboard flight PK303, Raza Hamdani reports.

Hospital ‘already stretched due to Covid-19’

Jinnah Hospital spokesperson Dr Seemi Jamali said that the hospital staff is trying its best to handle the emergency situation as the hospital is already stretched due to Covid-19.

11 fatalities confirmed by nearby hospital

Dr Seemi Jamali has confirmed to The Independent that a total of 11 dead bodies have been brought to Jinnah Hospital, Raza Hamdani reports.

Crash is PIA’s third fatal event in six years

PIA has suffered two other fatal events in the past six years. In 2014, one passenger died when an Airbus A310 from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia was struck by bullets on the approach to Peshawar in Pakistan.

In December 2016, a domestic flight from Chitral to Islamabad crashed on a hillside with the loss of all 47 passengers and crew on board.

Here’s the initial report from
Simon Calder and
The Independent‘s consulting editor, 
Raza Hamdani, who is based in Islamabad:

The Airbus A320 was almost at the end of a routine 90-minute flight when crashed as on the approach to Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport.

According to the state television channel PTV, the plane crashed in a densely populated area near the airport called Model Colony.

Rescue workers are evacuating residents of the area. But the narrow streets in the area make it difficult for ambulances and fire vehicles to reach the area.

There were discrepancies over reports of the number of passengers, with a spokesperson for PIA, the carrier in question, telling Reuters news agency there were 107 on board.

ISPR, the media wing of the Pakistan armed forces, reported that a paramilitary force is involved in the rescue and that personnel have cordoned off the area.

Footage on local TV news channels shows a large number of people gathered near the site of crash, as well as some damaged houses.

PIA appears to have suspended its website.The national airline grounded flights on 29 March because of the coronavirus pandemic. It began limited services again on 16 May.