Islamabad: A small military plane of the Pakistan Army crashed into a residential area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi early on Tuesday, killing 18 people, including five military personnel, officials said.
The Pakistan Army Aviation aircraft on a routine training flight crashed in the suburbs of Mora Kalu village, killing 12 civilians and five crew members and destroying five to six houses, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) — the media wing of the Pakistan Army.
It said that all five crew members, including two pilots, were killed in the crash.
However, a local rescue spokesman said that 18 dead bodies were brought to hospital that included 13 civilians and five crew members.
District commissioner Rawalpindi Ali Randhawa told the media that the incident occurred between 2.30 to 2.40 am when a small military plane which was on a training mission crashed in Rawalpindi. Rescue teams of 1122 and Pakistan Army immediately reached the site and started the rescue operation.
The ISPR said that rescue officials had extinguished the fire caused by the crash and moved the injured to various hospitals of Rawalpindi, where paramedics said most of the victims were badly burnt. At least 12 people wee injured in the accident, officials said.
The cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained and the rescue operation was completed by the morning, they said.
