Ambulances and fire brigade vehicles gather at the site of a passenger plane crash in a residential area near an airport in Karachi, Pakistan May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Karachi - A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crashed in a residential area near the Karachi Airport on Friday, an official has confirmed.
PIA spokesperson Abdul Sattar confirmed the crash and added that the flight, A-320, was carrying 90 passengers and was flying from Lahore to Karachi, reports Dawn news.
TV footage showed smoke billowing from the scene, some rooves caved in and debris scattered in streets, as ambulances rushed through chaotic crowds of people.
"The last we heard from the pilot was that he has some technical problem," PIA spokesman Abdullah H. Khan said in a video statement.
"He was told from the final approach that both the runways were ready where he can land, but the pilot decided that he wanted to do (a) go-round ... It is a very tragic incident."
Pakistan's army and rescue services rushed to the site, which appeared to be a densely populated area.
"The areoplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses," witness Shakeel Ahmed told Reuters near the crash, just a few kilometres short of the airport.
Dawn reports also stated that 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.
