A Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed into a mountain while en route from Chital to Islamabad.
The crash occurred at 16:42 local time, according to PIA.
PIA said the ATR aircraft, operating as flight PK661, was powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 engines.
According to Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network, the aircraft “took off from Chitral around 15:30, bound for Islamabad. At 16:09 the flight changed frequencies from Cherat to Islamabad ATC. At 16:14 the flight radioed that they had an engine problem and that they were descending. One minute later a Mayday call was issued. That was the last contact with the aircraft.”
PIA said in a statement that 42 passengers, five crew members and one ground engineer were on board. It said the crash site is near the small village of Saddha Batolni, near Havelian.
ATR said in a statement it “regrets to acknowledge the loss of an ATR 42-500 operated by Pakistan International Airlines.” It said the aircraft is registered under AP-BHO with serial number 663.
