Airplane with 152 passengers crashes near Islamabad airport

Islamabad - A passenger aircraft carrying 152 passengers crashed near the Islamabad airport in Pakistan Wednesday, officials said. The aircraft with flight no.ED202 reportedly lost contact with airport tower and later crashed in a forested area near the airport.

Initial reports show at least 25 passengers were confirmed dead but more casualties are expected to be reported as rescue operations are ongoing. The Airbus 321 jetliner is owned by Airblue Airways, a Pakistani-based airline company. The Airblue plane flight no.ED 202 took off from the southern city of Karachi at 7:45 a.m.for a two-hour flight to Islamabad, according to Pervez George, a civil aviation official. "The plane was about to land at the Islamabad airport when it lost contact with the control tower, and later we learned that the plane had crashed," George said, adding that the model of the plane was Airbus 321 and the flight number was ED202. Yahoo news reports:

Local TV footage showed twisted metal wreckage hanging from trees and scattered across the ground on a bed of broken branches. People were climbing the heavily forested hills to search for the dead and wounded, while a helicopter hovered above. Fire was visible and smoke rose from the scene. The army said it was sending special troops to aid the search.

The accident occurred in the Margalla Hills in Islamabad on a rainy morning. Rescue workers were heading to the scene, but the roads were difficult.