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NEW: Comair said it operated the plane under the British Airways brand from 1996 until late 2011
Head of Bhoja Air can't leave Pakistan without government approval
At least 73 of the bodies have been identified, a hospital representative says
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but poor weather may have been a factor
The grisly search for remains at the scene of a commercial plane crash in Pakistan continued Saturday, with officials doubting anyone on board survived.
The plane, carrying 127 people, crashed Friday in Islamabad just before it was to land at a nearby airport, according to Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, which cited poor weather as a possible factor.
No survivors have been found, officials said.
The Bhoja Air Boeing 737-200 had been making its first evening flight from Karachi to Islamabad, where the weather was cloudy, officials said.
The Bhoja Air Boeing 737-200 was en route from Karachi to Islamabad, where the weather was cloudy, officials said.
Malik said family members in Karachi are being flown in to help identify the victims.
Relatives and fingerprints have already helped identify the remains of 73 people taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Wasim Khawaja said.
Identifying all the bodies – many of which lie in pieces – will be challenging, Malik said. He said he hoped DNA technology will help in the process.
The crash occurred near the Chaklala airbase, a military site used by the country’s air force, which is adjacent to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.
The crash occurred near the Chaklala airbase, a military site used by the country’s air force, which is adjacent to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.
Debris and body parts were scattered across the crash site as workers sifted through the wreckage in the heavily populated residential area. Four villages were affected by the crash and debris from the plane has been recovered within a kilometer of the site, Interior Minister A Rehman Malik said in a interview with Pakistani media.
At least 110 bodies have been recovered from the scene, while more than a 150 bags filled with body parts have been transported to hospitals across the region, according to Farkhand Iqbal, a municipal official in Islamabad.
World’s deadliest plane crashes
Malik said he is ready to launch a security probe through the Federal Investigation Agency in case the Civil Aviation Authority’s investigation shows evidence of any security breaches. He also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered a “high-powered investigation.”
Head of Bhoja Air, Farooq Omar Bhoja, has been put on an exit control list, meaning he can leave the country without government clearance, he said.
The flight data recorder, which is considered a key component in determining what may have caused the tragedy, was recovered, officials said Friday.
