Cargo plane crashes in karachi residential area

Karachi  (Reuters) – A plane carrying eight people crashed early today in a residential area of Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, setting buildings on fire.

Provincial health minister Sagheer Ahmed told reuters three bodies were recovered. Express 24/7 television said 10 people were killed.

The civil aviation authority said the plane went down after taking off from Karachi airport.
Spokesman Pervez George said it was a Russian-built cargo aircraft bound for Sudan.
The plane hit a building under construction at a navy housing complex. Several unoccupied buildings nearby caught fire. Rescue workers fought a huge blaze.

Nisar Ali was sitting at his home with friends about one km away. “At first we thought it was a flare and then we ran to the area and realised it was a crash,” he said.

On Nov 5 a small plane chartered to an international oil company crashed after taking off from Karachi airport, killing all 21 people on board.

A Pakistani passenger plane crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad in July, killing all 152 on board, Pakistan’s worst aviation accident.