AMEVoice

A plane carrying 152 people on board today crashed into the Margalla Hills overlooking the Pakistani capital apparently due to bad weather, police said. The aircraft of the private airline Air Blue, flying from Karachi to Islamabad, hit the Margalla Hills near the Daman-e-Koh viewpoint this morning, officials of the police and a state-run rescue service said.

 

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Spokesman Pervez George said that 146 passengers and a six-member crew were on board the plane. Islamabad has been hit by heavy rains for the past few days and the city was covered by fog and low-lying clouds.

 

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Civil aviation officials said the aircraft had disappeared from radar screens shortly before the crash was reported.

The crash occurred in an area that is not accessible by roads or trials. Rescue workers said they were facing problems in approaching the crash site.

The heavy rains too were hampering rescue efforts, they said. Footage aired on TV news channels showed white smoke rising from the thick forests in the Margalla Hills.

Witnesses said they had seen flames in the wreckage of the aircraft.