At least 18 people were killed and several others injured when a small army plane crashed into a residential area in Rawalpindi.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed but there was no immediate word on the cause of the accident. Two pilots were among the five army personnel martyred.
The crash also resulted in 12 fatal civilian casualties while 12 others were injured, the ISPR added. However, local officials placed the number of civilian deaths at 13. Lt Col Saqib, Lt Col Wasim, Naib Subedar Afzal, Hawaldar Amin and Hawaldar Rahmat were among the martyred, according to the military’s media wing.
One witness said the plane was ablaze before the crash. The King Air 350 turboprop reportedly took a steep turn near its destination airport before coming down. Witnesses at the scene said the aircraft crashed into a family home in a residential area around 02:00. “I was awake when the plane flew over my room and it was already on fire in the air,” said resident Ghulam Khan. “The sound was so scary, it was only a small plane. It then fell on a house where a family used to live,” he added.
Another witness, Yasir Baloch, said, “The tail of the plane was on fire and it took barely two to three seconds and it crashed four houses away from my house and burnt to ashes.”
A resident near the site of the crash who gave his name as Yamin said he had escaped his burning house with his wife, daughter and parents, but his brother, sister-in-law and nephew died. “The window and door to their room was locked. We tried our best to get them out but couldn’t,” he said.
“It was very, very low, unlike the planes that usually fly over the area,” said restaurant worker Irfan Zareen. “Suddenly, the plane started doing somersaults in the air and abruptly crashed,” he said. The plane came down in a suburb of Rawalpindi, between Bahria Town and the Defense Housing Authority, which is populated by working-class villages. Zareen said a number of houses were either damaged or destroyed.
Bike shop owner Mehvish Ikhlaq said army helicopters and ambulances arrived and sealed off the area within 10 minutes of the crash. The area had been dark, without street lights, when the plane came down, she added. “Perhaps the pilot had thought that was empty ground and attempted to land there,” she said.
Pictures from the scene showed blackened buildings that had been reduced to rubble. Several injured were rushed to hospital, rescue services said. The bodies of the dead were taken away to be identified. “All the bodies are badly burned, so DNA tests are required for identification,” said Farooq Butt, a spokesman for the rescue services.
President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed their grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the aircraft crash. In a statement, President Alvi condoled with the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of those injured in the incident. PM Imran also commiserated with the bereaved families and prayed for the recovery of those injured in the incident.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the crash and prayed for the high reward of the martyrs and courage for the bereaved families to bear this loss with fortitude.
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar also sympathised with the grieved families over the loss of precious lives. He further directed the medical officials concerned to provide best medical treatment to the injured.
Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif also offered his condolences to the families of those who perished or were injured in the crash.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives in plane crash. He sent heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. He also prayed for eternal peace of the martyred souls.
Turkey also expressed grief over the incident. “We received the news with deep sorrow that a Pakistan Air Force plane on a training mission crashed into a residential area in the city of Rawalpindi of Pakistan,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said on Monday. The statement offered condolences to Pakistan’s government as well as to bereaved people. “We wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives in this tragic accident, convey our condolences to the friendly government and the brotherly people of Pakistan,” it added.
Following the plane crash, Ambassador of Japan in Pakistan Kuninori Matsuda expressed his deep sympathies and condolences with the victims of the accident.
The ambassador said that he is deeply grieved and saddened at the news of the plane crash, resulting in the loss of many lives, and expressed sincere condolences to all the victims and their families. He prayed for the earliest possible recovery of the injured persons.
