Karachi plane crash

At least 12 people were killed when a Russian-made cargo plane crashed in a fireball seconds after taking off from Karachi, a spokesman for Pakistan's civil aviation authority said. The Ilyushin IL-76, operated by the Georgian airline Sunway and bound for Khartoum, crashed into buildings in the Pakistani business capital about 1.50am yesterday, killing all eight Russian crew. Rescue workers recovered 12 bodies from the crash site, including three identified as local labourers, and the death toll was expected to rise. The crash was so severe that fire engulfed two buildings, as well as adjacent construction sites, a spokesman said. Authorities said they had brought the fire under control but rescue workers were still searching for bodies. The plane crashed into buildings under construction in the Dalmai neighbourhood, where the air force and the navy have apartments and offices close to Jinnah International airport, witnesses said. Local television said the multi-purpose cargo aircraft was often used to take humanitarian aid to developing countries, as well as other large items. It was the third plane accident in four months in Pakistan, where intercity travel is most efficient by air, and the second aircraft to crash after take-off from Karachi in just four weeks. Hospital doctors said that seven people on the ground were injured, and a reporter saw medics removing pieces of flesh from the debris. The explosion caused by the crash was so powerful that residents thought it was triggered by a bomb, said the Karachi police chief, Fayyas Leghari. The crash sparked fires in four or five construction sites, but officials said the number of casualties would have been far higher if the plane had struck nearby residential buildings.