RAWALPINDI: The bodies of three of the 97 victims of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash in Karachi last week were flown to Rawalpindi on Monday.

The relatives of the deceased received their bodies at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) and their funeral prayers were held at the Race Course graveyard.

President Arif Alvi, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and local PTI politician Zahid Kazmi participated in the prayers, and the president condoled with the families of the deceased.

Mr Khan told the press that the report on the PK-8303 crash would be presented in parliament and be made public. He said a team of air force and Civil Aviation Authority officials has been constituted to investigate the crash, which will also be investigated by a team from Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer.

Mr Khan visited the homes of Asif Fiaz and Syed Danish Shah to express his condolences.

According to a PIA spokesperson, the bodies of 41 victims of the crash have been handed over to families as of Monday night, while 54 bodies are still in the Edhi and Chippa mortuaries for DNA matching and identification. He said DNA matching has commenced.

The victims who were buried on Monday were Asif Fiaz, Syed Danish Shah and Malik Mohammad Zeeshan. Fia was a head constable with the Rawalpindi police and lived in Dhoke Chaudhrian, while Shah lived in Afshan Colony and Zeeshan in Pindigheb.

Zeeshan’s brother Malik Mohammad Adeel told Dawn that Zeehan had flown to Karachi for work while his wide and two children stayedback in Lahore.

“My brother lived in Rawalpindi, but had gone to Lahore for his daughter’s medical checkup,” Mr Adeel said, adding that his children are aged one and three.

City Police Officer Mohammad Ahsan Younas and Senior Superintendent of Police Tariq Walait visited the family of deceased constable Fiaz.

A PIA A-320 flying from Lahore to Karachi crashed in Jinnah Garden near Model Colony in Malir on Friday, minutes before it was scheduled to land at Jinnah International Airport. A total of 97 people on board the aircraft were killed and two people survived.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2020