Updated: No survivors of Pakistan plane crash, 152 killed

A passenger jet crashed into the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital amid poor weather Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board and blazing a path of devastation strewn with body parts and twisted metal wreckage.

Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has expressed his sorrow over the crash and declared a day of national mourning.

The Airbus 321 broke up and caught fire after crashing into Margalla Hills.



Civil aviation officials say the pilot of the Airblue flight from Karachi lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly before the accident.

Eyewitnesses say the plane was flying at low altitude during bad weather.

Rescue workers have recovered the severely burnt bodies of dozens of passengers from the wreckage.

Pakistan Plane Crash: Airblue Jet Crashes Near Islamabad

A domestic passenger jet carrying 152 people crashed into the hills surrounding Pakistan's capital on Wednesday morning, officials said. Rescuers were trying to reach the scene amid rain and difficult roads.

The cause of the Airblue crash was not immediately clear, said Pervez George, a civil aviation official. He said the plane was flying from Karachi to Islamabad.

"The plane was about to land at the Islamabad airport when it lost contact with the control tower, and later we learned that the plane had crashed," George said.

Pakistani news channels showed what appeared to be wreckage of the plane as a helicopter hovered above the heavily forested hills to assess the situation. Fire was visible and smoke was blowing up from the scene.