Black box from crashed PIA plane found: sources

KARACHI: In a major development, the security forces have found the black box of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane that crashed today near Jinnah International Airport, killing over 98 people on board, ARY News reported, citing sources.

The sources said that the Safety Investigation Board has taken the black box into custody to ascertain the cause of the crash.

Later, talking to journalists, a PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said that Safety Investigation Board has launched investigations into the plane crash. He maintained that the cause of the crash could not be ascertained before the completion of the investigation.

Earlier today, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft with more than 90 passengers and eight crew members on board had crashed in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials had confirmed the national flag carrier’s flight PK-8303 that was flying from Lahore to Karachi crashed in Model Colony. The plane had crashed moments before expected landing at the Karachi airport.

The aircraft had 99 passengers and eight crew members on board, the officials had said. Eleven bodies had been shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) from the crash site, according to officials at the health facility. Several injured had also been brought to the hospital. Two bodies and three injured had been taken to Civil Hospital.