Engine fire causes plane crash in Pakistan, killing over 10
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At least ten people have been confirmed killed in a plane crash that occurred early Sunday morning in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi.
![Pakistani volunteers struggle to extinguish the fire at the site of a plane crash in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Nov. 28, 2010. [Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20101128/001ec94a1ee40e5bf64c01.jpg "Pakistani volunteers struggle to extinguish the fire at the site of a plane crash in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Nov. 28, 2010. [Xinhua]") |
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Pakistani volunteers struggle to extinguish the fire at the site of a plane crash in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Nov. 28, 2010. [Xinhua] |
The crashed plane is a Russian-made IL 76 (some reports said IL 89) cargo plane that belongs to a Russian airline Sunway, said an official with the local civil aviation authorities.
The plane which reportedly carried an estimated 30 tons of fuel was bound for Sudan. It crashed two minutes after it took off from the Karachi airport at 1:45 am (local time) Sunday morning.
The right engine of the plane caught fire before it crashed in a residential area named Gulshan-E-Jamal near the Karachi airport, said a local report.
Eight people on board including six Pakistanis and two foreign pilots whose nationality is yet to be determined were feared killed and at least four buildings on the ground have completely been destroyed as the plane crashed in the afore-said residential area.
A loud explosion was heard after the plane crashed, said eyewitnesses, adding huge fire and smoke were seen on the crash site.
The rescue team has been dispatched to the crash site shortly after the tragedy took place. Rescue team officials said 95 percent of the fire on the crash site has been extinguished after nearly two hours of efforts of the fire fighters.
Exact figures of the casualties of the plane crash is still not known at the moment of this time. The death toll could rise as some people could have been buried under the destroyed buildings on the crash site. So far at least five bodies including a child have reportedly been recovered from the crash site.
Sunday's plane crash is the third of its kind over the last four months in Pakistan. On July 28, an Airbus passenger plane crashed in the Margalla Hills of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, killing all the 152 people on board. This is the largest aviation disaster ever reported in the country over the past 18 years.
On November 5, a small passenger plane carrying 21 people including four crew members crashed near the Karachi airport due to the engine failure. None of the people on board survived in the plane crash.
