PIA A320 crashes in Model Colony near Karachi airport; rescue operation underway

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane, with an estimated 99 people onboard, crashed in Karachi's Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport on Friday.

Sindh health officials have said that thus far , 37 people are confirmed dead. It is, however, unclear if the deceased were all onboard the flight or include area residents also where the crash happened . Three people are confirmed to possess survived the crash, consistent with officials.

PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said that the A320 Airbus was carrying 91 passengers and eight crew members from Lahore to Karachi on PK 8303. Eyewitnesses said the Airbus A320 seemed to plan to land two or 3 times before crashing during a residential district near the airport.

“The aeroplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses,” witness Shakeel Ahmed said near the location , just a couple of kilometres in need of the airport, consistent with Reuters.

Sarfraz Ahmed — a firefighter at the crash site — told AFP the nose of the Airbus A320 and therefore the fuselage had been heavily damaged by the impact, adding that rescuers had pulled four bodies from the wrecked aircraft, including some who were still wearing seat belts.

Crowd gathered at the crash site.

Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator for the Sindh health minister, confirmed to Dawn.com that three passengers had survived and were delivered to hospitals. She identified the survivors as Zubair, Tahira and Zafar Masood, who is that the president of Bank of Punjab.