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Friday 22 May 2020

Bank president and at least one other are pulled ALIVE from wreck of Airbus A320 that crashed into residential area of Karachi with 98 aboard after 'both engines failed'

  • Witnesses saw the plane attempt to land up to three times before the crash happened on its fourth attempt
  • The captain told air traffic control he had lost one of his engines and made a final desperate mayday call 
  • Emergency authorities including the military have been deployed in a bid to find survivors injured in the crash 
  • Bank of Punjab president Zafar Masood was pulled alive from the wreckage and was able to speak in hospital
  • Videos and photos show a wrecked plane door with flaming rubble and debris strewn across the area
MailOnline US - news, sport, celebrity, science and health storiesA bank executive and at least one other passenger have been pulled alive from the wreckage of an Airbus A320 which crashed after an engine failure in Pakistan today with 98 people on board. 

Bank of Punjab president Zafar Masood was dragged from the smoking debris of the Pakistan International Airlines flight after it smashed into a residential area in Karachi on Friday. 

At least two people aboard survived, according to the country's health department, revising an earlier statement that three were alive. But the other 95 passengers and crew are believed to have died. 

'Thank you so much. God has been merciful,' Mr Masood, the banker who was in seat 1C said, according to officials who spoke to him in hospital after the crash.  The other known survivor was named as Muhammad Zubair. 

Witnesses said the flight from Lahore had made three failed attempts to land at Jinnah International Airport before ploughing into the Model Colony area of the city on a fourth landing attempt. 

Pakistan's civil aviation authority said the plane had 91 passengers and a crew of seven. 

The pilot told air traffic control that he had lost both of his engines and a recording has emerged of the captain making a final mayday call before the crash. The Airbus A320-214 model uses a CFM56 engine made by CFM International, a joint venture between US-based General Electric and France's Safran. 

A photo of the aircraft on approach also shows that the landing gear is still up and black scorch marks under each engine. 

The air traffic control recording starts after the pilot has lready made one failed landing attempt. 

Bank of Punjab president Zafar Masood was dragged from the smoking debris of the Pakistan International Airlines flight after it smashed into houses in Karachi todayThe bank manager is pictured on a stretcher in pictures aired by Pakistani TV
Bank of Punjab president Zafar Masood was dragged from the smoking debris of the Pakistan International Airlines flight after it smashed into houses in Karachi today (left). He is pictured right on a stretcher in pictures aired by Pakistani TV
Zaffar Masood lifted out of wreckage after surviving plane crash
This picture shared by plane enthusiasts in Pakistan today shows the aircraft shortly before the crash, after it suffered an apparent engine failure. Black scorch marks can be seen beneath each engine and the landing gear is still up
This picture shared by plane enthusiasts in Pakistan today shows the aircraft shortly before the crash, after it suffered an apparent engine failure. Black scorch marks can be seen beneath each engine and the landing gear is still up
Clip purports to show moment of Pakistan plane crash
A bulldozer works in the wreckage of the Pakistan International Airlines crash today after the Airbus A320 smashed into a residential area of Karachi on Friday
A bulldozer works in the wreckage of the Pakistan International Airlines crash today after the Airbus A320 smashed into a residential area of Karachi on Friday 
This was the scene as emergency crews rushed to the scene of the plane crash in the Model Colony in Karachi
This was the scene as emergency crews rushed to the scene of the plane crash in the Model Colony in Karachi 
Volunteers carry an injured woman from the crash site after a Pakistan International Airlines came down in a residential area
Volunteers carry an injured woman from the crash site after a Pakistan International Airlines came down in a residential area
Clip purportedly shows Pakistan plane before crash
The plane had been flying from Lahore to Jinnah, which usually takes 90 minutes, before it went down in the Model Colony area as it began its final approach to land at Karachi airport
The plane had been flying from Lahore to Jinnah, which usually takes 90 minutes, before it went down in the Model Colony area as it began its final approach to land at Karachi airport


The pilot says: 'We are proceeding direct, sir - we have lost engine'.

'Confirm your attempt on belly,' the air traffic controller said, offering a runway.

'Sir, mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday Pakistan 8303,' the pilot said before the transmission ended.

Videos uploaded on social media show the plane's final moments as it steadily descends to the shrieks of terrified residents. Witnesses say the plane was so low they felt the walls of their houses tremble and saw the plane tilted on one side.   

Plumes of smoke smothered the skyline after the Pakistan International Airlines plane smashed into houses among the poor and densely populated area of Model Colony that is two miles from the airport.

The A320 can carry up to 180 passengers, depending on how its cabin is configured. 

The Sindh provincial government press department later distributed a photo depicting a second survivor identified as Mohammad Zubair, recovering in a Karachi hospital. 

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