Pakistan International Airline Plane PK 8303 Crashes , Scores Feared Dead

Flight PK8303 was on a domestic trip from Lahore and was minutes from the airport when it crashed at about 2.45pm local time.

Pakistani International airlines plane carrying 99 passengers and 8 crew has crashed in the city of Karachi today. Videos trending on Twitter show fire and smoke on the ground and several homes had reportedly caught fire.

A video shared Twitter by Pakistan's GEO TV showed an emergency crew trying to reach the scene through rubble, with flames still visible in the background. Simialr videos and images showed huge clouds of black smoke billowing up between tightly packed buildings in the residential neighborhood.

Pakistan International Airline's flight Crashed near Karachi airport. #planecrash #KarachiAirport #PIAcrash pic.twitter.com/ilbAgMCHMp

— News Diplomacy (@newsdiplomacy) May 22, 2020

According to CNN report, the airliner was due to land at 2:30 p.m. local time in Karachi after taking off from Lahore but it went missing from the radar, Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Abdullah Khan told CNN.

Flight PK8303 was on a domestic trip from Lahore and was minutes from the airport when it crashed at about 2.45pm local time (1045 BST). Video footage taken from the scene shows billowing black smoke and people running screaming from the scene. Local media reported that around five houses had caught fire.

On Friday, many in Pakistan were travelling back to their families in cities and villages across the country to with the intention to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.