Pakistani military plane crashes near garrison city, kills 17

A statement of the Pakistani military announced on Tuesday that a military aircraft had crashed early in the morning in a built-up area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi killing all five crew members and 12 civilians and setting off a blaze that left a pile of smoking rubble.

The statement said that the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed but it didn’t mention the cause of the accident or the type of aircraft involved.

At least 12 injuries were transported to the city hospitals by both civilian and military rescue teams.

“The plane hit the side of the building and the structure it has crashed into has completely collapsed,’ an army officer at the scene said.

Rawalpindi is close to the capital Islamabad and is where the headquarters of the Pakistan army is based.

The website of newspaper The News International carried footage showing a building engulfed in flames in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

Fatima Matar and Ghia Dergham

Reuters