Rawalpindi: At least 17 people were killed, including two pilots and five military personnel, when a plane of the Pakistan Army Aviation crashed in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
Soon after the crash near Mora Kalu area, a massive fire broke out that engulfed several houses in the locality, reports Geo News.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 11 civilians were among those killed and nine were injured.
“The aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed, but there was no immediate word on the cause of the accident or the type of aircraft involved,” the ISPR said.
Lt Col Saqib, Lt Col Wasim, Naib Subedar Afzal, Hawaldar Amin and Hawaldar Rahmat were among those killed, the military’s media wing added, reports Geo News.
Rescue teams and the Pakistan Army immediately reached the accident site. The ISPR added, rescue officials had doused the fire caused by the crash and moved the injured to a hospital.
In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from remote northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.
The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010 when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad while trying to land, killing all 152 onboard, reports Geo News.
