- Title: PAKISTAN: Airblue airlines plane crash rescue efforts stalled due to weather
- Date: 30th July 2010
- Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (JULY 29, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MARGALLA HILLS SHROUDED IN THICK FOG FLAGS AT HALF MAST AS A SIGN OF MOURNING WIDE OF PRESIDENCY WITH FLAGS FLYING AT HALF MAST VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC ON RAIN-DRENCHED ROAD
- Embargoed: 14th August 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVAEA4NGEOJXQNC7LNLC3XJVY9CA
- Story Text: Relatives of victims wait as heavy rain hampers recovery efforts at Pakistan's plane crash site.
Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan's capital on Thursday (July 29) hampered recovery efforts at the site of a plane crash the previous day that killed all 152 people on board, senior police officers said.
The Airbus 321, belonging to the private airline AirBlue crashed on Wednesday (July 28) into a hillside in Islamabad while flying from the southern port city of Karachi.
Thick fog and rainy weather are considered the most likely cause for the crash, the worst aviation accident on Pakistani soil.
The federal information minister said Wednesday that rescue workers had been able to recover 115 bodies during a day-long operation on the heavily wooded and hard-to-access site.
Investigators fear the torrential rain may have damaged crucial evidence that will help determine the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, flags were flying at half mast all over Pakistan as the country observed a day of mourning for those killed.
Distraught relatives of victims of the crash, who had flown to Islamabad from different parts of the country, flocked to a registration centre set up to accommodate them as they waited for results of DNA tests to determine the badly-mangled bodies.
"Our difficulty is that we are waiting to get hold of our dead bodies, so we can take them home," said 55-year-old Mohammad Anwar whose nephew had been traveling on the plane along with his mother.
Mohammad Shahzad, who had flown in from Peshawar to collect the remains of his cousin, said the family was in a state of shock.
"Every one is crying; the situation at home is very bad. His mother is lying unconscious," he said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Other relatives gathered at the city's main Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital to identify bodies.
Within Pakistan, the last major aviation accident was in 2006 when a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crashed near the central city of Multan killing 45 people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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