Local media in Pakistan is reporting that a plane carrying nearly 130 people has crashed outside Islamabad.

The Bhoja Air Boeing 737 was en route from the southern port city of Karachi to the capital Friday when it crashed near Islamabad's international airport in heavy rain.

State television says 127 passengers and crew members were on board the plane when it went down in a heavily-populated area near the airport. Authorities have dispatched rescue teams to the scene and an emergency has been declared in local hospitals.

Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar told private Pakistani television network Dawn News that 118 people have been killed.

In July 2010, a passenger plane belonging to private airline Airblue crashed in the mountains near Islamabad, killing all 152 people onboard.