2 Pilots Among 17 Killed As Pakistan Military Plane Crashes Into Residential Area In Rawalpindi

Seventeen people were killed,  including two pilots, when a small military plane crashed early Tuesday into a residential area in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad, a rescue official told AFP.

The plane crashed in the suburbs of Mora Kalu village, killing 12 civilians and five crew members and destroying five to six houses, the Pakistan Army said.

It said that all five crew members were killed and 12 others were injured in the accident.

District commissioner Rawalpindi Ali Randhawa told the media that the incident occurred between 2:30 to 2:40 am when a small military plane which was on a training mission crashed near an upscale neighbourhood in the garrison city home to the army's headquarters.

Soon after the crash, a massive fire broke out that engulfed several houses in the locality.

An AFP reporter at the scene said smoke was still rising from the wreckage and destroyed homes, while pieces of the plane were visible on a nearby roof.

Military officials had cordoned off the scene while a crowd of local residents stood nearby, with some sobbing. 

Some of the locals have also uploaded pictures of the burning houses on social media.

The dead and injured were shifted to various hospitals of Rawalpindi, where paramedics said most of the victims were badly burnt.

The cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained and the rescue operation was completed by the morning, the authorities said.

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 however in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue was flying from Karachi and it crashed into the hills outside Islamabad while coming to land, killing all 152 onboard.

(Inputs from PTI)