Pakistan Plane Crash: At Least 45 Dead As Flight With 107 Onboard Crashes Near Residential Area In Karachi

Flight PK-303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just a minute before its landing.

Volunteers look for survivors of a plane that crashed in residential area of Karachi, Pakistan. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi:  At least 45 people have died when a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane with 107 people on board crashed into a densely populated residential area near the Jinnah International Airport here on Friday. Earlier in the day, PIA plane crashed near the Karachi Airport today. According to reports, the flight bound from Lahore to Karachi crashed half a kilometre away from Karachi airport. Reports say that the flight that crashed was an Airbus (A320) and 107  people were onboard. The plane crashed into a densely populated residential area near the Jinnah International Airport, nearly a week after commercial flights were resumed on a limited scale amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Flight PK-8303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just a minute before its landing It is also being reported that the site where the plane crashed is a residential area. Footage shows plumes of smoke rising from what seems to be the site of the crash. As per Geo News, flight PK-303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just a minute before its landing. The PIA Airbus A320 had 98 people on board including 91 passengers and seven flight crew, the report quoted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources as saying. The fate of the people was not immediately known. Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa condoled the loss of lives and directed the military to provide full assistance to the civil administration in rescue and relief efforts. The flight PK 803 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 coronavirus pandemic. Several houses and cars damaged in the society where the aircraft crashed The CAA sources said that its communication with the plane was cut off one minute before its landing. Several houses have been damaged in the area where the aircraft crashed. A statement by the Pakistan Army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Army Quick Reaction Force and Sindh Pakistan Rangers reached the spot for carrying out rescue and relief operations alongside civil administration. Minister of Health and Population Welfare has declared emergency in all major hospitals of Karachi after the incident, Dawn news quoted Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator to the Sindh health minister, as saying.