Breaking News: Cargo plane crashes in Karachi (Pakistan); casualities feared

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A Russian-made cargo plane crashed in a fireball near residential apartments in Karachi, seconds after taking off from the city's airport Sunday with eight people on board, said officials.

The Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft had been bound for the Sudanese capital Khartoum, said Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Pervez George.

Police said there were injuries, but there was no immediate confirmation on casualty numbers or whether people had been hurt on the ground.

The crash caused a massive blaze in the Dalmai neighbourhood, where the Pakistan Air Force and Nay have residential apartments and sensitive installations close to Jinnah International airport, witnesses said.

"It took off from Karachi at 1:45 am (20:45 GMT Saturday) and after one and a half minutes it crashed," said George.

"It was an IL-76 cargo plane. It was going to Khartoum. It had eight people on board," he said.

Sunday's plane crash was the third in four months in Pakistan and the second in Karachi in just four weeks.

Police said injured people had been evacuated to local hospitals, but had no immediate confirmation on numbers or whether there had been any deaths.

The explosion caused by the crash was so powerful that local residents thought it was triggered by a bomb, said Karachi police chief Fayyas Leghari.

"The crash has created a large fire. The fire brigade is on site and trying to extinguish the flames, but the fire is too large to bring under control quickly, so it will take time," he said.

"It was a huge blast. People thought it was a bomb blast. Police are trying to assess the number of casualties. Several injured people have been taken to the local hospital."

A CAA official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the plane crashed into a building under construction close to Navy residential apartments.

The crash site was near to the military-controlled area where a Pakistani twin-engine turboprop crashed after take off from Karachi on November 5, killing all 21 people on board.

The US-manufactured Beech 1900C aircraft operated by local company JS Air had taken off from Jinnah International airport bound carrying carrying staff from an Italian oil company to an oil field in the southern province of Sindh.

On July 28, an Airbus 321 passenger jet operated by Airblue crashed into hills near the Pakistani capital Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi, killing 152 people on board.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• karachi
• plane
• crash
• pakistan
• russian
• cargo

[rizkhancnn]

fuckkk geo tv. all talha hashmi said was'' let me tell u''!!! wtf!

[garder14]

Its raining planes haleluja its raining planes !!!

[MrDemanforever]

i lol'd just let it burn down and try to find 8 people

[lucasrsbr]

@SpaceMan131326 Lol... lame... you dont like to think do you?

[SpaceMan131326]

@mantor420 don't worrier we did not for get about Islam

[mantor420]

@SpaceMan131326 lol sleeping GIANT......forget about giant lil dick you are will be put to asleep!!!

[SpaceMan131326]

@hamzaaliarshad DEATH TO THE COMMUNISTS AND IF RUSSIA GOES AGAINST AMERICA, NOT ONE RUSSIAN NUKES WILL HIT AMERICA, CHINA AND NORTH KOREA ARE GOING TO BURN IN HELL YOU HAVE AWOKEN THE SLEEPING GIANT

[atlanticl]

i suspect sabotage.