MULTAN, July 10: A Lahore-bound Fokker of PIA crashed into a field here only a few minutes after taking off on Monday. There were no survivors among the 45 people, including five crew members, aboard the ill-fated flight Pk-688.

According to local civil aviation officials, the plane took off at 12 noon, and lost contact with the control tower within six minutes. Seconds later, it came down in a field in an area called Raj Ghat in the Suraj Miani locality of the city.

Among the people on board were Justice Nazeer Siddiqi and Justice Nawaz Bhatti of the Lahore High Court, two army brigadiers Aftab Ahmed and Farhat Sabir, and the vice-chancellor of the Bahauddin Zakariya University, Dr Naseer Khan.

Mohammed Shan, an eye-witness, said that he and his friends were cutting fodder when they saw a plane tumbling down. “It was so close to the ground that we ran away out of fear. Within no time the plane hit the ground. Then we heard some faint voices crying for help from the wreckage, but fire immediately engulfed the entire wreckage,” he said.

As soon as the plane crashed into the empty field, local people rushed to the place in horror and panic.

Shopkeeper Ghulam Mustafa’s small grocery shop was situated a few furlongs from the site of the crash. “I had seen the plane emitting a lot of smoke, as it nose-dived, tumbling and closing in on the trees in the area.”

Immediately after the crash, he said, he phoned the emergency 15 and the fire brigade. “Initially some local people tried to pull some victims out from the wreckage. A severely-injured woman was rescued but she breathed her last before the medical aid arrived.”

He said the fire brigade came after more than an hour. “By that time, everything had been burnt to ashes,” he regretted.

It is learnt that the plane was carrying 4,700 pounds of aviation fuel.

Multan airport’s chief security officer, Muhammad Sarfraz said that the right engine of the Fokker had caught fire immediately after the plane had taken off. “We informed the control tower about the fire just then,” he claimed.

An official at the air control tower said on condition of anonymity that the senior pilot of the plane, Captain Hamid, was immediately informed, and he perhaps tried to bring the plane back.

Aeronautical engineer Imtiaz Anwar, who had given the fitness certificate to the Fokker for the journey, was also on board the plane.

A.D. Malik, the person in-charge of the engineering section at the airport, said that the plane had no technical problem when it was checked for the flight. “An hour ago, it had come to Multan from Islamabad via Lahore,” he added.

The bodies of the people on board were so badly charred that most had become unidentifiable. Nevertheless, relatives took away 42 bodies after identifying them with the help of wrist watches and other belongings found on the bodies.

The CAA authorities said that the ‘black box’ of the plane had been recovered from the wreckage, and it would be sent to Karachi for scrutiny to ascertain the possible cause of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, two committees have been constituted to look into the causes of the crash. One committee comprised CAA officials, and the other PIA personnel.

INQUIRY: A high-level Inquiry Committee has been constituted for investigating the cause of the PIA F-27 (Fokker) air crash in Multan killing all 45 people on board, adds our Islamabad Bureau.

According to the Ministry of Defence a helpline has been established in the Ministry as well as the Civil Aviation Authority and PIA offices in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Multan.

The prime minister has also asked Senior Minister for Defence Rao Sikandar Iqbal to conduct an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the causes behind the air crash to prevent their recurrence.

The PIA Fokker flight PK-688, carrying 41 passengers and four crew members en route from Multan to Lahore, crashed soon after take-off.

Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the tragic plane crash. In a condolence message, he offered his heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed that the Almighty may grant fortitude and strength to them to bear this irreparable loss. He also prayed for the departed souls.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of lives in the plane crash. He prayed for the departed souls and expressed sympathy with the bereaved families.

Senior Federal Minister and Minister for Defence Rao Sikandar Iqbal and Minister of State for Defence Khalid Ahmad Lund have also expressed deep shock and grief over the incident.