KARACHI – A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane has crashed near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi just a minute before landing on Friday.
The flight PK-8303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near the populated area of Model Colony in Malir.
Pakistan army tweeted that troops had reached the site to conduct relief-and-rescue efforts. The A320 narrow-body jet built-in 2004, data from Flightradar24 showed.
It’s the second major plane crash of PIA in less than four years. On December 6, 2016, PIA flight PK-661 carrying 48 passengers and crew had crashed on the way to Islamabad from Chitral, killing all on board.
The airline’s chairman resigned in late 2016. Friday’s crash happened on the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr when many Pakistanis return home to celebrate.
Last year, a PIA aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at Gilgit airport.
Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted he’s in touch with the airline’s chief executive officer and that an investigation would be conducted soon.
A CAA representative couldn’t immediately confirm the number of casualties and said the authority is waiting for more information. An Airbus representative said the company is in touch with the airline to gather more information and declined to comment further.
Like other carriers worldwide, PIA struggled with plane groundings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, which hasn’t made a profit since 2004, asked the government for financial support in March.
