Pakistan plane crash, no hope of survivors official says

A commercial airplane carrying at least 121 people crashed Friday in Rawalpindi just before it was to land at an airport in Islamabad. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authorities and rescuers said there is no hope of survivors

The officials believe the Boeing-737 of private Bhoja airlines aircraft crashed after running into lightning and heavy rain over Islamabad.

The Defence Ministry ordered inquiry into the crash and formed a committee to submit a report. Officials said the plane was nearly 27-year old.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said there are strong indications that lightening may have hit the plane. Witnesses said the plane crashed on residential area, causing fire in the plane and several houses. There had been no confirmation of any casualty on ground.

A former head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Junaid Ameen, told the media that bad weather is usually not the cause of plane crashes because planes have equipments which help in dealing with the situation. "Planes are designed to fly in bad weather."

An eye witness told reporters at the site that he saw fire at the tail of the plane before it crashed.

The plane B-4213 was coming from the port city of Karachi to Islamabad when came down nearly 10 kilometers away from the Islamabad's Benazir International Airport at 6;45 p.m., local time. According to sources in Civil Aviation Authority, the flight was given clearance to land at Islamabad airport but it lost contact with the control tower minutes before the crash.

Rescue teams including Pakistan army personnel rushed to the crash site.

Rescuers said the plane's wreckage, bodies and their luggae were spread over one kilometer area.

A large number of relatives rushed to the Karachi and Islamabad airports to get information of the crash. A special plane will be arranged for relatives to fly to Islamabad to identify bodies, officials said.

Touching scenes were seen at the Karachi and Islamabad airports as the relatives of the passengers and crew members were anxiously waiting for information.

Group Captain Mujahidul Islam, head of Safety Investigation Board Civil Aviation Authority, will lead an inquiry into the incident.

Two operation rooms have been set up at Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Rawalpindi and Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.

A senior aviation official, Mansoor Bukhari, said there was no foreigner in the aircraft and all passengers and crew members were Pakistani nationals.

Rescue and search operation for the bodies faced difficulties due to bad weather, darkness and traffic jam on the main road to the crash site.

A rescue official of the Capital Development Authority's disaster management department, Asif Majeed, told Xinhua on phone that ambulances and fire tender could not reach in time as they had been stuck in the traffic jam.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani expressed sense of shock over the crash.

Authorities temporarily closed the Islamabad International Airport for all incoming and outgoing flights after the plane crash, Civil Aviation sources said. The flight operation from the airport was suspended in the aftermath of the crash.

Bhoja Air Lines has recently launched operation after years of suspension service due to financial cruch. Officials said it was maiden flight from Karachi to Islamabad.

It is the second passenger plane crash near Islamabad in less than two years.

A total of 152 passengers and crew members were killed when a plane of private Air Blue company crashed in the Margalla Hills in Islamabad in July 2010.