Cargo plane crashes in Pakistan, eight died

Russian-made cargo plane crashed in a fireball seconds after taking off from Karachi on Sunday, a spokesman for Pakistan’s civil aviation authority said.

“All eight people on board have died, we fear that some labourers on the ground have also been killed,” CAA spokesman Pervez George said. “We do not know the exact number of those killed on ground,” he said.

The rescue workers still searching for bodies, they had controlled the fire now said authorities.”Six bodies have been recovered, they are badly mutilated and beyond recognition,” George told AFP.

Witness said, the plane slammed into buildings under construction in the Dalmai neighbourhood, where the Pakistan Air Force and Navy have residential apartments and offices close to Jinnah International airport. It was horror at seeing a fireball racing through the night sky, said witness.

It was the third plane accident in four months in Pakistan, a country of 170 million people where inter-city travel is most efficient by air and the second aircraft to crash after takeoff from Karachi in just four weeks.

“It was a huge blast. People thought it was a bomb blast,” Leghari said.

George told AFP that the jet took off from Karachi at 1:45 am (20:45 GMT Saturday) and crashed just one and a half minutes later. Police official Shad Masih told AFP, “Rescue workers are still searching whether there are any other bodies or injured people in the debris.”