Dozens killed in plane crash in neighbourhood

AN airliner carrying 98 people yesterday crashed in a crowded neighbourhood near the airport in Karachi, Pakistan after an apparent engine failure during landing.

Officials said there were at least two survivors from the plane, and as of last night it was unknown how many people on the ground were hurt, with at least five houses destroyed.

The pilot of Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 was heard transmitting a mayday to the tower shortly before the crash of the Airbus A320, which was flying from Lahore to Karachi.

Video on social media appeared to show the jet flying low over a residential area with flames shooting from one of its engines.

The plane came to rest between houses smashed by its wings in a narrow alley in the poor and congested residential area known as Model Colony. Police in protective masks struggled to clear away crowds amid the smoke and dust so ambulances and fire engines could reach the site.

Two passengers survived, said Meeran Yousaf, Sindh provincial Health Department spokeswoman.

But local TV stations reported that three people sitting in the front row of the aircraft survived and showed video of a man on a stretcher they identified as Zafar Masood, head of the Bank of Punjab.

Civil aviation authority spokesman Abdul Sattar Kokhar said the discrepancy was due to confusion in the chaotic aftermath of the crash.

Pakistan had resumed domestic flights earlier this week ahead of the Eid-al Fitr holiday marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Airbus said it would provide technical assistance to investigators.