A Pakistan International flight carrying 46 passengers on board is believed to have crashed today afternoon in Abbottabad. Famous Pakistani singer turned Islamic preacher Junaid Jamshed was also present in the flight Dawn news reported.
The flight en route to Islamabad belonged to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has crashed today afternoon, few minutes after it went off the radar. The flight PK-661 departed from Chitral at 3:30 pm which disappeared from the air control radar soon after the takeoff. Among the 47 people included five crew members on board the aircraft.
PIA’s ATR-42 aircraft was scheduled to reach Islamabad but it lost control with the control tower. According to ARY news, Captain Saleh Hayat was operating the flight and there were 40 passengers aboard in the ill-fated craft which included renowned religious personality Junaid Jamshed who was travelling with his wife Aisha.
PIA spokesperson Danial Gilani issued a statement saying that “We regret to inform that PIA’s ATR-42 aircraft operating as PK-661, carrying around 40 persons lost its contact with a control tower on its way from Chitral to Islamabad a short while ago. All resources are being mobilised to locate the aircraft. Media will be kept informed as the situation develops”.
The Airliner has also issued a series of a phone number for emergency response for updates: 0092-21-99044890, 0092-21-99044376 and 0092-21-99044394.
The Military wing in Abbottabad said, that the army had dispatched troops and helicopters to the crash site for rescue efforts.
According to reports, the jet pilot contacted the control towers reporting malfunctioning in the engine and the last contact was made by the pilot 25 minutes before reports of the crash surfaced.
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