Islamabad, Pakistan (BBN) – A Bhoja Airline flight has reportedly crashed near Chaklala airbase due to bad weather, killing around 118 passengers, Defence Ministry confirmed.
The plane was a Boeing-737 with 127 passengers on board, which flew from the country’s port city Karachi at 5:00 PM (local time) and was supposed to land in the capital Islamabad at 6:40 PM, but crashed just before touchdown, according to reports.
Local media also reported quoting sources in Civil Aviation Authority that the flight was given clearance to land but it lost contact with the control tower minutes before the crash reports.
All hospitals in the capital Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi had been put on high alert after the crash, private television channels reported.
Rescue teams including Pakistan army personnel have rushed to the crash site.
Plane crashes are relatively rare in Pakistan, where inter-city travel is most efficient by air.
In July 2010, an Airbus 321 passenger jet operated by the private airline Airblue crashed into hills overlooking Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi, killing 152 people on board.
BBN/SSR/AD-20Apr12-10:48 pm (BST)
