The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said that the crashed flight of Pakistan International Airlines was carrying 99 passengers and 8 crew members.
The plane took off from Lahore and was set to land at 2:30 p.m. on May 22, local time in Karachi, but suddenly disappeared from radar, according to Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Abdullah Khan.
Local media said the plane was a Airbus A320. A spokesperson for the Pakistan armed forces said on social media that the helicopter was being searched and rescued. In addition, soldiers of the paramilitary force arrived at the scene along with local authorities. Photo: AFP.
According to witnesses at the scene, the plane appeared to have tried to land two to three times before crashing near Jinnah International Airport.
A senior civil aviation official told Reuters that the crashed plane appeared unable to open the wheel due to a technical error before landing, but the details are too early to determine.
The first videos and images of the plane crash scene have been spread on social media.
Local TV station Geo released footage showing passenger plane crashes in densely populated areas and ambulances trying to approach the scene.
Many images and videos circulating on social media showed the fire and large columns of smoke and dust from the scene of the plane crash that could be seen from afar.
