ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed into the mountains of Abbottabad district, killing 48 people, including pop singer-turned Islamic preacher Junaid Jamshed. The dead include eight women and two infants, along with five crew members and a ground engineer. The ATR-42 aircraft had taken off from Chitral in the afternoon and was due to land at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport, when it crashed in Saddha Batolni village near the Pakistan Ordinance Factory shortly after the pilot sent a distress signal.
Daniyal Gilani, PIA spokespersni said, "A distress call was sent to the control tower... then the crash was reported." He added that the plane, which was nearly 10 years old, was in good condition. An eyewitness said all bodies were burnt beyond recognition. "We've not recovered any body intact. There are just burnt limbs and torsos all scattered around." With the area being without any road access, and cold weather adding to the woes, rescue operations and ambulances were unable to reach the site.
A rescue team member, Kashif said authorities doused the fire by putting sand on the branches and area surrounding the crash site. "The debris could have been scattered about 100 metres out. The plane fell into a canal behind the mountains so the debris wasn't very scattered. Junaid Jamshed's visiting and ID cards were recovered by a member of the rescue team," he said.
