Brutal Flight Crash in the Mountains(Margalla Hills) of Islamabad, Pakistan

At least 20 people were confirmed dead when the Airbus 321, belonging to private airline Airblue, crashed in heavy rain while flying from the southern port city of Karachi. Five survivors were pulled from the wreckage and sent to nearby hospitals, said Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the state-run Capital Development Authority, a municipal body.

Rescuers said they had to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, with fire and thick smoke hampering their work.The crash site, on a steep and heavily wooded hill, has no roads, limiting access to pedestrians and aircraft. "Dead bodies are lying all around and very few might have survived in the accident," Bin Yameen, a senior police official of Islamabad said. "Bodies are being lifted through helicopters." The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members. Bin Yameen said a woman was alive at the scene and crying for help.

"I could hear her cries from the woods. Rescue workers are trying to save her," he told Reuters from the scene of the crash. A thick blanket of cloud and smoke caused by fire could be seen rising from the crash site. A helicopter hovered overhead and flames licked at trees and what appeared to be wreckage from the plane. "We are removing wreckage with our hands. There is fire. There's smoke, which has made the rescue job very difficult," Bin Yameen said.Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ordered authorities to control the fire immediately and rescue passengers.

Airblue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, the company said on its website (www.airblue.com). Spokesman Raheel Ahmed said this was the first crash for the airline.

Aviation industry sources in Europe said the aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corp, the leasing unit of US insurance giant AIG Los Angeles-based ILFC was not available for comment and there was no immediate confirmation of these details.The A321 is the largest of the A320 family of single-aisle jets produced by EADS subsidiary Airbus. This particular type of aircraft, which can seat up to 185 passengers, has been in service since 1994. Forty-five people were killed when a passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the central city of Multan in 2006.