Barely a week after the world was left stunned by a plane crash in Bolivia, another plane has crased.
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight with 48 people on board reportedly crashed in the north of the country on Wednesday.
Flight PK-661 “lost contact with the control tower on its way from Chitral to Islamabad”, the airline said.
The army has recovered at least 21 bodies from the crash site in the Havelian area, about 70km (43 miles) north of Islamabad, a military statement said.
The national carrier has been accused of safety failures in the past.
There were 42 passengers, five crew members and one ground engineer on board, the airline confirmed.
A famous former pop singer turned Islamic preacher, Junaid Jamshed, and his wife were on the flight’s passenger list, according to leading private news channel GEO TV.
The plane took off from Chitral at about 10:00GMT (15:00 local time), losing contact 90 minutes later, shortly before it was due to arrive at its destination, local media report.
Pakistani TV images showed a trail of wreckage engulfed in flames on a mountain slope.
The army has dispatched troops and helicopters to the location, national broadcaster Radio Pakistan reports.
Former cricketer turned leading Pakistani opposition politician, Imran Khan, tweeted his condolences:
Shocked & saddened by the tragic PIA plane crash near HavelIan. May Allah give the families of the deceased courage to bear their loss.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 7, 2016
The last major crash involving a PIA aircraft, in 2006, left 44 people dead.
