ISLAMABAD, Dec. 7 (UPI) — A Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying 47 people from Chitral to Islamabad crashed Wednesday, aviation authorities said.
The airline said Flight PK-661 was missing but did not confirm it crashed. Spokesman Daniyal Gilani said, “All resources are being mobilized to locate the aircraft.”
The plane took off from Chitral, the capital of northern Pakistan’s Chitral district, around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Communication with the plane was lost at around 4:30 p.m., shortly before it was to arrive in Islamabad, the Civil Aviation Authority said.
The authority said it received a distress call from the pilot. The search for the aircraft, a European-made ATR-24 twin-turboprop short-haul plane, focused on the city of Havelian.
Eyewitnesses said they saw a plane crash in the hills near Havelian, as well as clouds of smoke rising from the site, Geo News reported.
