19 dead in Pakistan air crash
Print Edition
Nineteen people were killed when a small military plane crashed into a residential area in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi early yesterday.
The plane crashed into a poor village near an upscale neighborhood in the garrison city that is home to the army鈥檚 headquarters, creating a fireball that lit up the night sky and terrified residents.
Rescue officials said 14 civilians, including children, and all five crew aboard the aircraft were killed, including the two pilots.
Farooq Butt, an official at the state-run emergency service, said 14 people were also injured in the crash.
鈥淎ll the bodies are badly burned, so DNA tests are required for identification.鈥
One resident said the crash happened around 2am. 鈥淚 woke to the sound of a huge explosion. I stepped out of my house and saw huge flames and we rushed to the site,鈥 said Mohammad Sadiq.
鈥淧eople were screaming. We tried to help them but the flames were too high and the fire too intense,鈥 he said, adding he believed seven members of one family were among the dead.
Another resident, Ghulam Khan, said he heard the plane as it buzzed over his house, adding the aircraft appeared to be on fire before it crashed.
鈥淭he sound was so scary,鈥 he added.
The military鈥檚 information wing said the plane was on a routine training mission when the accident occurred, adding that rescue officials had extinguished the fire caused by the crash and moved the injured to a local hospital.
Hours after the crash, rescue workers were still combing through the smouldering site, gathering debris and inspecting the scene while ambulances swarmed the area.
Pakistan鈥檚 Prime Minister Imran Khan offered his condolences to the affected families and wished a 鈥渜uick recovery for the injured.鈥
Pakistan has a checkered aviation safety record, with frequent crashes. The deadliest was in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue crashed into the hills outside Islamabad, killing all 152 on board.
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