Just a minute before its landing, Flight PK-303 crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir. The Pakistan Army Quick Reaction Force arrived at the crash site for relief and rescue operations alongside civil administration.
"Just heard the devastating news of PIA plane crash. May Allah bless every soul we lost in this. It was flying Lahore to Karachi & crashed just before landing. Inna lillahi wa inna elaihi rajaoon," Akhtar tweeted.
Minister of Health and Population Welfare has declared an 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.
A pilot identified as Fakhar Alam posted a video on Twitter showing plumes of smoke emanating from the place where the fatal crash took place.