Pakistani military personnel searching the wreckage of their military plane. (Image: BBC)

Army plane crash in Pakistan, at least 17 dead

PUNJAB - Early Tuesday (30/7), a fireball was seen from a suburb in the Pakistani province of Punjab. A military plane crashed into an upscale suburban area located near the military headquarter. in Rawalpindi, adjacent to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

The crash took 17 lives, 12 civilians and 5 military personnel. About 12 people were injured due to the crash. During the evacuation process, smokes were still rising from the houses’ debris and the plane’s wreckage. Some wreckages were seen on the houses’ rooftop and some houses were devastated due to the crash.

According to a resident, the crash occurred at 2 a.m. The other resident said that the plane was buzzing before it crashed, adding that it was already on fire in the air. At that time, they heard a loud explosion nearby and decided to check it out.

The residents were devastated by the crash. Locals tried to save a family; however, the flame rose too high and it was too late. A family of seven members could not be rescued from the fire. Loud cries were heard on early Tuesday.

Military personnel closed the affected area for evacuation and search. However, the locals could not contain their sorrow as they forced to approach the crash site, reminiscing the death of their beloved neighbors.

However, the crash was not the first to occur in Pakistan. The crash only added another grimy accident to its already bleak aviation history. Over the years, plane and helicopter crashes were frequently reported coming from the South Asian country.

In 2016, about 48 people died in a commercial plane crash involving Pakistan International Airlines. The crash was due to the inoperative of its two turboprop engines. The plane flew from Chitral and fell to Havelian, 70km north of Islamabad. There was no survivor from the crash. One of the casualties was Junaid Jamshed, a famous Pakistani pop singer turned Islamic preacher.

However, that was not the worst. The worst aviation disaster in Pakistan occurred in July 2010, when Airbus 321, operated under private airline, Airblue, flew from Karachi and crashed into Margalla Hills, Islamabad. The incident was called Airblue Flight 202, as the number of the scheduled flight. The crash took 152 lives.

Source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/17-killed-pakistani-army-plane-crashes-residential-area-doc-1j72co1