It appears a world under lockdown doesn't stop a bird made of metal from crashing back down to earth. This is the case with a Pakistan International Airlines flight which crashed in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
According to CNN, the Pakistani Aviation Ministry said the plane which contained 99 passengers and 8 crew members, crashed on Friday.
Flight PK 8303 took off from Lahore and was due to land at 2:30 p.m. local time in Karachi but went missing from the radar, according to Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Abdullah Khan.
The pilot of the Airbus A320 airliner made a mayday call saying he was experiencing technical problems.
"He had been told both landing strips were available for his use but he preferred to use the go around landing route, we are looking into the technical issue. Our prayers for the lives that have been lost," Khan said. An emergency response protocol has been activated, he added.
Crash site footage from #Karachi pic.twitter.com/hnOMm3iHNu— Mansoor Ali Khan (@_Mansoor_Ali) May 22, 2020
Footage posted from the scene on social media shows flames, plumes of smoke and a street filled with rubble in what appears to be a built-up area.
Pakistan's civil aviation authority allowed limited domestic air travel to resume Saturday after a two-month suspension imposed as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
International flights are not expected to resume until June 1. Pakistan started a phased reopening of its nationwide Covid-19 lockdown on May 9.