There were no survivors after a plane carrying 47 people crashed into a mountain in northern Pakistan last evening, Pakistan International Airlines chairman said, as recovery operations continued late into the night at the remote crash site.
The military said 40 bodies have been recovered. PIA-operated flight PK-661, crashed en route from Chitral to the capital, Islamabad.
PIA said the captain of the flight had reported losing power in one engine minutes before its plane lost contact with the control tower. Irfan Elahi, the government’s aviation secretary, told media that the plane suffered engine problems but it was too early to determine the cause of the accident.
In a late night statement, PIA said the plane was carrying 47 people, including five crew members and 42 passengers. Earlier, the airline had said there were 48 people on board. Junaid Jamshed, a well-known Pakistani pop star turned evangelical Muslim cleric, is among those dead.