‘No survivors’ after Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying over 100 people crashes in Karachi – Mayor

The mayor of Karachi has revealed that there were no survivors after a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft carrying 107 people crashed in a residential area of the city.

The plane was en route from Lahore to Karachi when it crashed in the Model Colony residential area two kilometers from Jinnah International Airport on Friday. 

Speaking at the site of the tragedy, Mayor Wasim Akhtar said the plane went down in a crowded neighborhood on the edge of the airport and nobody on board is believed to have survived the crash. Some 76 casualties have been confirmed.

It is feared there may be more casualties because the 15-year-old Airbus A320 crash landed in the heavily populated area.

Eyewitness reports from the scene indicate the plane may have struck a mobile tower before plunging to earth.

“The last we heard from the pilot was that he has some technical problem," a spokesperson for the state carrier said. "He was told from the final approach that both the runways were ready where he can land, but the pilot decided that he wanted to do (a) go-round ... It is a very tragic incident."

An official from Pakistan’s civil aviation authority said that the crash was probably due to a technical fault but it was too early to confirm the exact cause.

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