Pakistan International Airways flight ‘crashes in north’

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane arrives at the Benazir International airport
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane arrives at the Benazir International airport

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight with more than 40 people on board has crashed in the north of the country, local media are reporting.

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Flight PK-661 “lost contact with the control tower on its way from Chitral to Islamabad a short while ago”, said a statement from the airline.

All resources are being mobilised to locate the aircraft”, it added.

A regional police official told Reuters that the plane came down near Hevalian, 70km (43 miles) from Islamabad.

The national carrier has been accused of safety failures in the past, with 44 people dying in the last major crash in 2006.

Its flights were banned by the European Union in 2007 because of concerns over safety.

bbc.com