Rawalpindi: A small Pakistani military plane crashed into a residential area near the garrison city of Rawalpindi before dawn Tuesday, killing at least 15 people, including two pilots, officials said. In a statement, the military said five soldiers were among those killed in the plane crash. Rescue officials said the death toll could rise further since there are injured in critical condition. The military gave no details about the cause of the crash and only said an army aviation aircraft was on a routine training flight when the plane went down in the village of Mora Kalu on outskirts of Rawalpindi. TV footage showed fire erupting in the residential area.

Farooq Butt, an official at the state-run emergency service called 1122, said at least 12 people, including soldiers died in the crash and that authorities had declared an emergency in hospitals. He said about 20 people were injured in the plane crash. Butt said a rescue operation was still ongoing. An AP reporter at scene of the crash saw a burning house and some makeshift homes. Rescue officials say the plane suddenly lost control with the tower and reason for the incident was not known.

In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from remote northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people. The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad while coming in to land, killing all 152 on board.