"Rescue effort continues. 21 bodies recovered so far," the military's media wing ISPR said in a statement.
#PK661: 21 dead bodies have so far been recovered from the site of crash @ISPR_Official pic.twitter.com/YmrBJuhzaY
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) 7 декабря 2016 г.
Army rescue team has started to recover the bodies of the victims we lost in the #PK661 tragedy today.
— Pakistan Defence (@defencepk) 7 декабря 2016 г.
According to Pakistani media, the crash may have been caused by the engine failure.
“PIA flight 661, an ATR carrying over 45 people crashed into a hilly terrain in Pakistan’s North around 16:30. There is no news of any survivors. Pilot’s mayday call said that left engine was on fire and switching off the engine was last heard. ATR with one engine switched off can barely maintain level flight. If the good engine produces less thrust the problem gets amplified. It seems the aircraft kept descending and went into the hill. Unfortunately the pilot could not do anything. The actual cause will be however determined by Investigation Team,” Ex Air Force and Aviation Pilot, Group Captain, Khalid Mehmood told Sputnik.
List of passengers on board #PK661 from #Chitral to #Islamabad which crashed in #Havelian Abbotabad pic.twitter.com/fYbGf6SKPy
— AAMIR KHAN (@aamirsagar) 7 декабря 2016 г.
At least three foreign citizens were on board of the Pakistan International Airlines’ jet crashed in Pakistan on Wednesday, local media reported. The issued list of passengers contains 42 people including 31 men, nine women and two children, the Dawn media outlet reported.
Famous Pakistani singer and TV presenter Junaid Jamshed is said to have been aboard the plane.
The search and rescue operation is still underway.
