PIA aircraft Crashed

 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft has crashed in a residential area near Karachi airport.

PIA spokesperson Abdul Sattar confirmed the crash and added that the flight, A-320, was carrying 99 people on board, including cabin crew, and was flying from Lahore to Karachi.

CAA sources said that its communication with the plane one minute before its landing was cut off.  PIA spokesperson said that the plane crashed at 2.37pm Pakistan Standard Time, just one minute before the landing. The PIA flight PK-8303 took off from Lahore for Karachi and crashed in a residential area in Karachi, a senior PIA official told Gulf News from Karachi. He said that PIA's emergency and rescue team has been activated.

A statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Army Quick Reaction Force and Sindh Pakistan Rangers reached the site for relief and rescue efforts, alongside civil administration.

Minister of Health & Population Welfare has declared emergency in all major hospitals of Karachi due to the plane crash, according to Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator to the Sindh health minister.

According to the PIA official, passengers included 51 male, 31 female and nine children. Chairman Punjab Bank Zafar Masood and a senior journalist Ansar Naqvi were also travelling in the same flight.

Local media reported that there are some survivors. The exact number of casualities is not known as resuce teams were busy in rescue operation.

The crash occurred just days after domestic flights resumed in Pakistan as coronavirus-related lockdown restrictions were being lifted.