- Title: PAKISTAN: Investigators collect evidence from site after plane crash killed 127
- Date: 22nd April 2012
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) MEHR KHAN, FATHER OF VICTIM, SAYING: "They said you will have to go there (Islamabad) for identification and DNA test. I am traveling now. (crying)." TICKET BEING HANDED TO RELATIVES OF VICTIMS VICTIMS' RELATIVES BIDDING GOODBYE TO OTHER RELATIVES WOMEN RELATIVES WEEPING MAN BEING COMFORTED WHILE WEEPING VARIOUS OF RELATIVES WALKING TO DEPARTURE LOUNGE (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) JAMALUDDIN ALAVI, BROTHER OF VICTIM, SAYING: "My brother was traveling to Islamabad regarding some work when this crash occurred. Now, I am traveling to Islamabad to identify and receive his body." WOMAN WEEPING PASSENGER GOING INTO LOUNGE VARIOUS OF AIRCRAFT ON TARMAC NEWSPAPER KIOSK
- Embargoed: 7th May 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan, Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA30AEIH0U53167LBO368KRDR1G
- Story Text: Investigators collected evidence from a plane crash site in Islamabad on Saturday (April 21), a day after an airliner with 127 people on board crashed in bad weather, scattering wreckage and leaving no sign of survivors.
The Boeing 737, operated by local airline Bhoja Air, was flying to the capital from Pakistan's biggest city and business hub Karachi. It crashed into wheat fields more than 5 miles (about 9 km) from the airport.
There were no survivors, the Emergency Disaster Management for the Capital Development Authority said.
Rescue workers walked through mud at the crash site with flashlights or with the lights of their cellphones looking for passengers' remains. One held up a tattered e-ticket receipt.
Body parts, wallets and eyeglasses lay among wreckage strewn in a small settlement just outside Islamabad.
Stunned by the crash, onlookers gathered at rooftops of their houses as military officials collected the wreckage from the crashed plane.
Witnesses recalled seeing how the plane went up in flames.
"It was 6:40 pm (1340 GMT). It was raining heavily. The plane was flying. The airport is near this place. When it reached this area the weather was very bad. Heavy rain with hails was pouring down. Suddenly the plane caught fire, flames engulfed it and it fell to the ground," said local resident Wajid Waheed.
Parts of the aircraft smashed into electricity poles, blanketing the area in darkness, or into houses. There were no reports of casualties on the ground.
Bhoja Air said the airplane crashed during its approach in Islamabad due to bad weather. There was no indication from the government that it could have been the result of foul play.
Meanwhile, relatives of crash victims flew from Karachi to Islamabad on Saturday morning to identify bodies of their loved ones at a hospital.
"They said you will have to go there (Islamabad) for identification and DNA test. I am traveling now," said a tearful Mehr Khan, whose newlywed daughter and son-in-law were aboard the plane.
"My brother was traveling to Islamabad regarding some work when this crash occurred. Now, I am traveling to Islamabad to identify and receive his body," said Jamaluddin Alavi, brother of a victim.
State television reported that all hospitals in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi had been put on high alert after Friday's (April 20) crash.
The last major aviation accident in Pakistan was in July 2010, when a commercial airliner operated by AirBlue with 152 people on board crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad.
In 2006, a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft crashed near the central city of Multan, killing 45 people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
