Bodies burned beyond recognition

Islamabad: Charred human flesh and families torn apart were all that was left after Pakistan's Airblue flight ED 202 from Karachi to Islamabad crashed into a wooded hillside in thick cloud and heavy rain.

No one knows why the Airbus 321 ploughed into the hillside and disintegrated in a gorge in a ball of flames, but the commuter flight ended in carnage at 09:45 am (04:45 GMT) and plunged Pakistan into mourning.

While most charred corpses and passengers' body parts have been moved to Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, only a few were identifiable.

"The bodies are charred and disintegrated beyond recognition. Human limbs were stuck in the bush," rescue official Saeed Zahir Shah said.

"The faces of two dead women and an infant were the only pieces I could recognise," Shah added, after recovering eight bodies on the slippery hillside during at times heavy rain.

The interior ministry and rescue workers confirmed that both black boxes were found.

A source in the Civil Aviation Authority said the black boxes would be "sent to the Airbus company headquarters for decoding as "there are no facilities here."

One honeymoon couple in their 20s had been on board the flight, their dreams of swapping the steamy metropolis of Karachi for a magical holiday in balmy northern Pakistan brutally crushed.

Honeymoon

Business executive Mohammad Ovais, 26, had been overjoyed at the prospect of his honeymoon, his 23-year-old cousin Nadeem Ahmad told AFP.

"Ovais was very happy after his wedding was solemnised early this month and planned to celebrate their honeymoon in Islamabad and the surrounding scenic northern areas," Ahmad said sobbing. "His parents are in a deep shock. So is rest of the family. The couple was full of life and their loss so soon after the marriage has stunned us all."

Pakistan's Cabinet cancelled its weekly meeting and announced a day of mourning.

Professor Dr. Mahmoud Jamal, Medical Superintendent of PIMS told reporters: "We will not be able to hand over most bodies to the families without DNA testing and the process may take up to a fortnight.".

Shamim Chaudhry, 42, told Gulf News at the hospital gate: "Seven males and two female members of our family have died in the crash . . . they were coming to attend the funeral of their uncle today."

Relatives of the passengers spent four hours hoping that their loved ones would be one of the five survivors, as wrongly claimed by Interior Minister Rehman Malek.

Neither the airline administration nor the Islamabad airport authorities seemed equipped to deal with the emergency.

Rescuers braved heavy monsoon rains all day to reach the steep slope after hiking the trail without the help of any ropes.

"We are waiting for the special plane to take off for Islamabad to collect our loved ones' remains," said Hassan Farouqi, who lost his sister-in-law, from Karachi. Emotional scenes were witnessed at Karachi Airport till late yesterday.

Jawad, a rescuer with 1122 service, told Gulf News at the scene of the crash: "About a dozen helicopters are airlifting the bodies to the helipad and ambulances ferry them to the hospitals."

High risks

General Nadeem Ahmad Khan, who heads the country's National Disaster Management Authority, told reporters that the rescue effort would resume early this morning as intermittent rains and low visibility continue to pose high risks to the chopper services.