Police say Airblue plane carrying 152 people crashes into hills in Pakistani capital

Published November 17, 2014

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A passenger jet carrying 152 people crashed into the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital on Wednesday morning, officials said. Rescuers were trying to reach the scene amid rain and difficult roads.

The cause of the Airblue crash was not immediately clear, said Pervez George, a civil aviation official. He said the plane was flying from Karachi to Islamabad and was trying to land during difficult weather.

"The plane was about to land at the Islamabad airport when it lost contact with the control tower, and later we learned that the plane had crashed," George said.

Guards with the forestry service said they had found some wreckage and seen some bodies, police official Mohammad Saeed said. The army said it was sending special troops to the area to help out along with helicopters.

Pakistani news channels showed what appeared to be wreckage of the plane as a helicopter hovered above the heavily forested hills to assess the situation. Fire was visible and smoke was blowing up from the scene.

Airblue could not immediately be reached for comment.

Officials at first thought it was a small plane, but later revised that. George said 146 passengers were on the flight along with six crew members.

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