KARACHI: Young pilot Haris Suleman was undertaking a historic 30-day journey around the world to raise funds for education in Pakistan when his life was tragically cut short as his plane crashed on Wednesday after take-off from Pago Pago International Airport.

Friends, families and strangers around the world mourned his death but simultaneously hailed his courage and passion for living his dream and thanked him for his efforts to raise awareness about education through The Citizens Foundation (TCF).

Twitter and Facebook users expressed their grief and condolences online, with one saying that among the devastating plane crashes that have taken place this year, this one was particularly heart-breaking.

As Twitter was flooded with messages of “rest in peace” for the 17-year-old, we came across the little known Twitter account operated by Haris. A family member confirmed to Dawn that the account @HarisPls was operated by the young pilot, who documented his journey around the world along with a few shout outs to family members.

Another account @BonanzaBoi reportedly handled by Haris and his team also tweeted:

He also tweeted about material needed for the flights:

It was Hiba Suleman - Haris' sister - who confirmed the young pilot's death through a moving Facebook status update.

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TCF mourns young pilot’s death

The management at TCF with whom Haris campaigned for education was in a state of shock upon hearing the news of Haris’ passing. The teenage boy was raising funds for TCF schools in Pakistan.

“The TCF family is in a state of shock,” said the Chief Executive Officer Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad.

“They [Haris and his father] were two courageous and passionate people, who embarked on this amazing journey to raise awareness about the plight of the less-privileged and to raise funds to support the cause. Their efforts, enthusiasm and commitment will always be cherished.”

A TCF spokesperson told Dawn that Haris’ campaign for education would continue even though the organisation had incurred a tremendous loss due to his death.

To achieve his aim of collecting $1 million for the education of underprivileged children, the 17-year-old embarked on the world tour with his father and had already collected 60 per cent of the pledged amount when the tragedy occurred.

The TCF spokesperson said Haris was extremely passionate about working with TCF. On his arrival in Karachi on July 1 and planned stopovers in Islamabad and Lahore, members from the TCF and scores of children were present at the airport’s general aviation area to receive him.

“He aimed to build five schools and he had already raised enough funds for two,” the spokesperson added.

Captain (retd) Nasir Khan, who has a long-standing association with Haris' family, and has been keeping a close track of reports pertaining to the tragic incident, spoke to Dawn and expressed the hope that an extensive investigation would be undertaken to recover Babar Suleman and locate the plane wreckage.

"Given the fact that Samou was an Island, the search radius should, hopefully, not be that much and if a proper search is carried out, it will ensure that we recover Babar and the aircraft."

Khan said Babar and Haris were courageous people. “This aviation family will reconcile the loss with more courage than any other, but our hearts go out to them and we mourn their deaths. Babar and his son were spirited about the cause of education in Pakistan."