Army Aircraft Crashes Into Residential Area Killing 17

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Media captionPakistan military plane crash reduces buildings to rubble
At least 17 people have been killed and 12 injured after a small military plane crashed into a residential area near the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.
Five crew members and 12 civilians were among the dead, the army said.
The aircraft was on a training flight when it crashed and set off a fire across several homes. One witness said the plane was ablaze before the crash.
The King Air 350 turboprop reportedly took a steep turn near its destination airport before coming down.
Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, is the site of the Pakistani army's headquarters, and the plane belonged to the Pakistani Army's aviation unit.
Soldiers and other personnel work at the scene where a Pakistani Army Aviation Corps aircraft crashed in Rawalpindi on July 30, 2019.Image copyrightAFP
Image captionThe city of Rawalpindi is the site of the army's headquarters
Witnesses at the scene said the aircraft crashed into a family home in a residential area around 02:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
"I was awake when the plane flew over my room and it was already on fire in the air," said Ghulam Khan. "The sound was so scary, it was only a small plane. It then fell on a house where a family used to live."
Another witness, Yasir Baloch, said: "The tail of the plane was on fire and it took barely two to three seconds and it crashed four houses away from my house and burnt to ashes."
A resident near the site of the crash who gave his name as Yamin said he escaped his burning house with his wife, daughter and parents, but his brother, sister-in-law and nephew died.
"The window and door to their room was locked. We tried our best to get them out but couldn't," he said.
Women mourn the death of their relatives who were killedImage copyrightREUTERS
Image captionMourners gathered at the site of the plane crash
Pictures from the scene showed blackened buildings that had been reduced to rubble. A reporter from the AFP news agency said smoke was still rising from the wreckage and pieces of the plane were visible on a nearby roof.
Several injured were rushed to hospital, Pakistan's emergency rescue services said. The bodies of the dead were taken away to be identified.
Pakistan has a chequered aviation safety record. In 2010, an aircraft operated by private airline Airblue crashed near Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board - the deadliest air disaster in Pakistani history.
In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames while travelling from northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.

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