The national airline of Pakistan faced yet another tragedy when flight PK-661 crashed before landing in Islamabad international airport.
Flight PK-661 was travelling under the domestic route from the city of Chitral to Islamabad. The turboprop ATR 42 took off from the mountainous landscapes of Chitral and crashed on Wednesday near the town of Havelian.
The cause of the crash is still unidentified and up in the air. Investigations have been kicked off by the local authorities, however, as for now, there is no rock-solid answer to determine the root of the tragedy.
The civil aviation officer said that the pilot, just seconds before the tragedy struck called for engine failure and onlookers said that the plane then plunged out of the sky.
Experts were quick to reach to a conclusion maintaining that there are hardly any survivors. "All of the bodies are burned beyond recognition," said Taj Muhammad Khan, a government official.
All of the 48 dead bodies are unfortunately far beyond recognition and their DNA testing procedure of the passengers and crew has been commenced.
As far as the condition of the plane is concerned, the airline's chairman Muhammad Azam Saigo said, "I want to make it clear that it was a perfectly sound aircraft. I think there was no technical error or human error. Obviously, there will be a proper investigation."
While the country grieves for the 48 souls on board, one of the recognized musicians turned religious scholar also lost his life. Junaid Jamshed was travelling with his wife Nayha Jamshed when PK-661 collapsed, leaving behind debris and plane wreckage.
Junaid Jamshed was in Chitral for a 15-day preaching tour and was to return to the capital on Wednesday.
Among the passengers there were two Austrians and Chinese citizens as well. The Austrians were working for an Austrian engineering group Andritz in a hydropower project.
"Our compassion is with the families, whom we will give any support," said the company's spokesperson. There were nine women and two infants on the doomed flight.
The origin of the crash is being inspected as spokespersons have ruled out a human error. The pilot Saleh Janjua, who has a record of more than 12,000 flight hours, gave out a "mayday call" due to an engine failure soon before the plane went down.
The history of Pakistan's worst air crashes takes us back to 2013. Domestic airline Air Blue Airbus A321 crashed into the Margalla hills while it was preparing to land, unfortunately taking 152 lives on board.
