Pakistan Plane Crash Kills All 127 Onboard

Posted April 20th, 2012 at 6:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Authorities say there are no survivors of a passenger plane that crashed near the Pakistani capital with 127 people on board.

The Boeing 737 was en route from the southern port city of Karachi to the capital Friday when it went down near Islamabad's international airport during a thunderstorm.

Officials say the Bhoja Air jet was on its maiden flight from Karachi to Islamabad. They blamed bad weather for the accident, dismissing allegations that the aircraft experienced a technical malfunction.

Witnesses say the plane crashed near a heavily-populated area near the airport and that it may have already been on fire before it hit the ground. Officials say no one on the ground was injured.

Civilian and military rescue teams have been dispatched to the scene. The head of the army rescue team told reporters that 110 bodies have been recovered so far. Authorities are appealing to residents to stay away from the crash site during the recovery process.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered an investigation into the crash.

In July 2010, a passenger plane belonging to private airline Airblue crashed in the mountains near Islamabad, killing all 152 people onboard. It was the deadliest plane crash in the country's history.

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