97 bodies recovered from Pakistan International Airlines crash

Rescuers recovered 97 bodies Saturday from the wreckage of a crashed Pakistan International Airlines domestic flight, which the pilot had said lost power. The plane crashed Friday as it reached the southern city of Karachi, slamming into a residential area on the edge of the airport. The flight was carrying 99 passengers and crew. Two passengers survived and weren’t badly hurt, an escape described as “miraculous” by authorities. Many of the passengers had been on their way to see their loved ones for the Muslim festival of Eid, which falls this weekend, officials said. On Saturday, the provincial government said it had found 97 bodies. Residents of 25 homes on the ground that were damaged by the crash were relocated, said the military, which is helping with the debris-clearance operations. Among the dead was one American. The plane flew into the roofs of low-rise apartment blocks and homes of a middle-class neighborhood, breaking the aircraft up. Fires broke out on the ground. Rubble from the buildings and plane parts littered the narrow streets of the area. Authorities said no residents were killed, but some were injured. An investigation into the crash has been launched, with a four-member team named by the government to run the probe. Story has full details.<br/>