KARACHI, Pakistan – A small plane carrying 22 people crashed near the airport in Pakistan's largest city on Friday after the pilot warned of engine troubles, officials said. There were no survivors.
The crash was the second in less than four months in Pakistan, which has struggled with numerous crises this year, including massive floods that have left millions homeless and ongoing Islamist militant attacks. The previous crash, in July, killed 152 people and was the worst-ever on Pakistani soil.
The plane that crashed Friday morning had just taken off from the southern city of Karachi. The pilot told the control tower minutes before the crash that there appeared to be some fault with the engine, said Pervez George, a spokesman for the country's Civil Aviation Authority.
The pilot was ordered to return to the airport, but as he was turning the aircraft, it went down in an open field, the spokesman said. The plane belonged to a private company and caught on fire after the crash.
The make and model of the plane were not immediately clear, but officials said it was chartered to an oil company.
No one survived, said Army Lt. Col. Noor Alam, a lead rescue official at the scene.
"The bodies onboard are beyond recognition," he said. "The plane has turned into a complete wreckage."
Karachi is a mega-city of more than 16 million people and its airport hosts flights from all over the world.
The July 28 flight by Pakistani carrier Airblue crashed into hills overlooking the capital, Islamabad, during stormy weather. Initial reports said a few people had survived that crash, but later it was confirmed all 152 onboard the Airbus A321 had died, including at least two U.S. citizens.
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