Passenger plane crashes in hills near Pakistan capital

Passenger plane crashes in hills near Pakistan capital

A plane with more than 150 people on board has crashed in hills north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Officials said 20 bodies had been recovered and at least three injured people had been taken to hospital.

Police said it was an Airblue flight from Karachi to Islamabad.

The plane came down in the Margalla Hills near the capital, and Pakistani TV showed images of smouldering wreckage on a foggy hillside, with helicopters overhead.

Analysis

Continue reading the main story

Aleem MaqboolBBC News, Islamabad

Thick plumes of smoke can be seen rising from the Margalla Hills that overlook the Pakistani capital.

Weather conditions in recent days have meant many flights have been cancelled, though this one was allowed to fly from Karachi, on what is a very popular route.

The skies here are heavily overcast, and at the time of the crash there was also a heavy monsoon rain and thick fog.

A huge rescue effort has been launched.

The plane, reported to be an Airbus A321 with 146 passengers and six crew on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 0750 (0350 GMT).

Officials said the plane, believed to be flight 202, lost contact with the control tower minutes before landing.

An Express 24/7 television journalist at the scene of the crash said he had seen 15 bodies.

"They are badly mutilated and burnt," Sabur Ali Sayed said, "and there are two women among the dead."

He added: "A good number of rescue workers have reached the site. Other people have reached here on their own. The plane is totally destroyed, the pieces and parts scattered over a large distance. Some parts of the plane are still burning. Some bushes have been burnt."

Officials said forestry guards in the Margalla Hills searching for survivors had seen five bodies.

A large number of relatives are outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad's largest government-run hospital, says the BBC's Ahmed Raza.

Many of the relatives are crying, our correspondent says, and rush towards ambulances as they arrive. So far they have been waiting for over two hours, but no dead or injured have been brought to the hospital.

Airblue spokesman Raheel Ahmed told reporters that the crash was "an extremely tragic incident".

"Our first priority is to find the survivors. The weather is not conducive for rescue but rescue teams have reached the spot," he said.

Anjum Rahman, a journalist with Express 24/7 television in Islamabad, said she saw the plane flying over the rooftops of houses where she lives.

"I wondered why the plane wasn't flying higher as it was flying towards the hill. Then within three or four minutes I heard a loud explosion," she told the channel.

Witness Khadim Hussain told the Reuters news agency: "It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office."

Saqlain Altaf told Pakistan's ARY news channel that he was on a family outing in the hills when he saw the plane, looking unsteady in the air.

"The plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down," he said, adding that he heard the crash.

Mohammed Usman, an official at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, said dozens of relatives of passengers gathered there were crying and desperate to get information about their loved ones.

Initial reports said the flight originated in Turkey, but this has not been confirmed. Later reports suggested it was a commut

Passenger plane crashes in hills near Pakistan capital

Passenger plane crashes in hills near Pakistan capital

A plane with more than 150 people on board has crashed in hills north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Officials said 20 bodies had been recovered and at least three injured people had been taken to hospital.

Police said it was an Airblue flight from Karachi to Islamabad.

The plane came down in the Margalla Hills near the capital, and Pakistani TV showed images of smouldering wreckage on a foggy hillside, with helicopters overhead.

Analysis

Continue reading the main story

Aleem MaqboolBBC News, Islamabad

Thick plumes of smoke can be seen rising from the Margalla Hills that overlook the Pakistani capital.

Weather conditions in recent days have meant many flights have been cancelled, though this one was allowed to fly from Karachi, on what is a very popular route.

The skies here are heavily overcast, and at the time of the crash there was also a heavy monsoon rain and thick fog.

A huge rescue effort has been launched.

The plane, reported to be an Airbus A321 with 146 passengers and six crew on board, is thought to have left Karachi at 0750 (0350 GMT).

Officials said the plane, believed to be flight 202, lost contact with the control tower minutes before landing.

An Express 24/7 television journalist at the scene of the crash said he had seen 15 bodies.

"They are badly mutilated and burnt," Sabur Ali Sayed said, "and there are two women among the dead."

He added: "A good number of rescue workers have reached the site. Other people have reached here on their own. The plane is totally destroyed, the pieces and parts scattered over a large distance. Some parts of the plane are still burning. Some bushes have been burnt."

Officials said forestry guards in the Margalla Hills searching for survivors had seen five bodies.

A large number of relatives are outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad's largest government-run hospital, says the BBC's Ahmed Raza.

Many of the relatives are crying, our correspondent says, and rush towards ambulances as they arrive. So far they have been waiting for over two hours, but no dead or injured have been brought to the hospital.

Airblue spokesman Raheel Ahmed told reporters that the crash was "an extremely tragic incident".

"Our first priority is to find the survivors. The weather is not conducive for rescue but rescue teams have reached the spot," he said.

Anjum Rahman, a journalist with Express 24/7 television in Islamabad, said she saw the plane flying over the rooftops of houses where she lives.

"I wondered why the plane wasn't flying higher as it was flying towards the hill. Then within three or four minutes I heard a loud explosion," she told the channel.

Witness Khadim Hussain told the Reuters news agency: "It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office."

Saqlain Altaf told Pakistan's ARY news channel that he was on a family outing in the hills when he saw the plane, looking unsteady in the air.

"The plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down," he said, adding that he heard the crash.

Mohammed Usman, an official at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, said dozens of relatives of passengers gathered there were crying and desperate to get information about their loved ones.

Initial reports said the flight originated in Turkey, but this has not been confirmed. Later reports suggested it was a commut

Diego Maradona's tenure as Argentina coach ends

Diego Maradona's tenure as Argentina coach ends

How Maradona inspired a nation

Diego Maradona's reign as Argentina coach has ended, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has confirmed.

Maradona, 49, admitted he wanted to stay in the job ahead of a meeting with AFA president Julio Grondona on Monday.

But, after Maradona rejected demands to change his backroom team, the AFA voted not to renew his deal and made under-20 coach Sergio Batista caretaker boss.

Argentina crashed out of the 2010 World Cup finals at the quarter-final stage, where they lost 4-0 to Germany.

Grondona said: "It is difficult to agree. The hardest difference to agree on was changing some of Diego's staff.

There was no evaluation, no review, no conclusions. These are the things you have to think about in order to think about the future AFA general secretary Jose Luis Meiszner

"Nobody has been sacked. A contract has not been extended because the conditions were not suitable.

"When you cannot agree with somebody you love, you are not happy at all.

"I always want to talk to him [Maradona], but sometimes it is difficult because this is not the best moment."

However, AFA general secretary Jose Luis Meiszner was less saddened by the situation, telling cable channel C5N: "I would be a hypocrite if I didn't admit there was a general disliking of several aspects of the cycle that ended with the World Cup.

"We did not see any intention to show humility, to say that things should have been done better.

"There was no evaluation, no review, no conclusions. These are the things you have to think about in order to think about the future."

Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella, who was Daniel Passarella's assistant at the 1998 World Cup, Racing Club boss Miguel Angel Rosso and Batista have all been suggested as potential successors to Maradona, but Grondona says that no candidates were yet in the frame for the full-time role.

"We have time to choose the technical staff," he said. "We have not thought about anybody yet.

"Batista is a member of the staff of this body so he will obviously fill the place as long as is needed."

Batista played in midfield alongside Maradona in the 1986 World Cup final and managed Argentina to gold at the 2008 Olympics.

He will pick the squad for the country's next game against the Republic of Ireland on 11 August at Dublin's Aviva Stadium - the first international football match at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road site.

606: DEBATE Your views on Maradona's Argentina tenure

Before the pair's two-hour meeting on Monday, Grondona stated he was hopeful a new four-year deal could be agreed with Maradona.

But while Maradona was keen to continue in the job, he also declared he would refuse to renew his contract, which ended after the defeat to Germany in Cape Town, if the AFA dismissed even one of his staff.

"If they touch a hair of one of my guys, even if it's the masseur or the kitman, I'm going," he told El Show del Futbol on America TV.

Grondona had already signalled his desire for backroom changes after admitting the AFA "had lots of problems" with one of Maradona's assistants, former Argentina defender Oscar Ruggeri.

Grondona's demand, then, for the replacement of a number of assistants - one of whom was believed to be Maradona's close friend Alejandro Mancuso - was, unsurprisingly, snubbed by the football legend.

Although appearing defensively frail at times, Maradona's side topped Group B in South Africa with victories over Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.

They then overcame Mexico 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

But the emphatic nature of their exit at the hands of the Germans gave fresh ammunition to the critics of Maradona's tenure, which included a fraught qualification campaign.

Since taking the job in November 2008, Maradona, considered by many as the greatest footballer in history, won eight and lost seven of his 15 games in charge of La Albiceleste.

Tendulkar gives blood for biography

Tendulkar gives blood for biography

Summary

The publishers of a new biography of the Indian cricketing star, Sachin Tendulkar, say special editions of the book will contain drops of his blood. Copies go on sale in February, costing $75,000 each.

Reporter:
Mark Dummett

Report

Sachin Tendulkar, the leading Indian cricketer of his generation, described this latest tribute to his life and achievements as 'mind-blowing' and it certainly promises to be a book like no other.

For a start, the Tendulkar opus will be absolutely enormous; it will weigh 37 kilograms and its 852 pages, containing more than 1,500 pictures, will each be edged in gold leaf.

But if that wasn't enough, then a special edition will contain tracesof the great man himself; his blood will be mixed into the pulp that will make the paper for the signature page.

Carl Fowler, the Chief Executive of Kraken, the book's publishers, admitted in a newspaper interview that this may not be to everyone's taste but said that it was a fitting tribute to a man regarded as a religious icon by millions of people.

Each copy will cost $75,000 and the publishers say that ten have already been pre-ordered, with proceeds going towards Tendulkar's charitable foundation, which is building a school in Mumbai.

China now world's biggest energy user

China now world's biggest energy user

Summary

China has passed the United States to become the world's biggest energy user, according to the International Energy Agency. However, Chinese officials say that the IEA's data are unreliable.

Report

China was bound to overtake the US in terms of total energy consumption sooner or later, and according to IEA calculations, it happened in 2009.

One long-term factor behind this development is China's population – more than four times that of the US – with a growing appetite forconsumer goods that need energy to use and to manufacture.

The other key reason is China's rapid economic growth, an annual average of 10% over the last two decades, compared with a much slower 2.6% in the United States. Much of China's economic growth has been in industry and construction, which are big energy users.

The timing of China overtaking the US also reflects the global financial crisis, which hit the American economy much harder and so had a bigger impact on the country's energy use.

China's new lead in energy consumption is yet another indicator of its growing influence in the global economy especially in international energy markets.

But while China's total energy consumption has, according to the IEA, overtaken the US, it's still far behind in terms of energy use per person, by a factor of more than three. Chinese officials have said the IEA's data are unreliable, and fail to account for what they call their relentless efforts to cut energy use and emissions.

The response probably reflects China's sensitivity to criticism of its growing global influence. But the IEA's analysis is not a criticism. A senior official at the agency described China's growing energy consumption as legitimate, considering its population.

Putin meets Russian spies expelled from US

Putin meets Russian spies expelled from US

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said he met the Russian intelligence agents deported from the US in a spy-swap row in July.

He said they had sung songs together about the Motherland, adding that he had no doubts "they will have interesting, bright lives".

However, Mr Putin did not say where the meeting took place.

The 10 Russians admitted in a US court earlier this month to being agents for a foreign country.

Spy swap

Continue reading the main story

Deported from US

• "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy" admitted they were Russians Vladimir Guryev (44) and Lydia Guryev (39)
• "Donald Howard Heathfield" and "Tracey Lee Ann Foley" admitted they were Russians Andrei Bezrukov (49) and Elena Vavilova (47)
• "Michael Zottoli" and "Patricia Mills" admitted they were Russians Mikhail Kutsik (49) and Natalia Pereverzeva (36)
• "Juan Lazaro" admitted he was Russian Mikhail Vasenkov (66) - married to Vicky Pelaez (55), journalist born in Peru
• Anna Chapman, 28 (maiden name Anya Kushchenko) - real estate entrepreneur, daughter of Russian diplomat
• Mikhail Semenko - apparently operated under own name
• MISSING - 11th suspect known as "Christopher Metsos", disappeared while on bail in Cyprus

Deported from Russia

• Igor Sutyagin, nuclear scientist jailed in 2004 for spying for CIA
• Sergei Skripal, ex-military intelligence (GRU), jailed for spying for UK in 2006
• Alexander Zaporozhsky, ex-agent of foreign intelligence service (SVR), jailed for spying in 2003
• Gennady Vasilenko, said to be former KGB agent, jailed in 2006 over illegal weapons

• Who went where
• Russian agents' all-American lives
• Profile: Spies released in Russia

More serious money laundering charges against them were dropped.

They were then flown to Vienna, where a Russian jet carrying four prisoners freed by Russia arrived around the same time - in what was America's biggest spy swap with Russia since the Cold War.

'Betrayal'

Mr Putin, who served as a KGB agent during the Soviet era, made the comments about his meeting during a visit to Foros, Ukraine, on Saturday.

He also confirmed that Anna Chapman - who had received most of the publicity in the Western and Russian media - was among the agents present.

He said that "everyone of them had a tough life".

"First (problem) was to master foreign language as your own. Think and speak it and do what are you told to do for the interest of your motherland for many years without counting on diplomatic immunity," the prime minister said.

"This (spy scandal) came as a result of betrayal. They (the betrayers) end up taking to drink or drugs."

And when asked by reporters if Moscow was planning to take revenge, he said: "It is incorrect to ask about it.

"The special services live under their own laws and everyone knows what these laws are."

Stampede at German Love Parade festival kills 18

Stampede at German Love Parade festival kills 18

At least 18 people have been killed in a stampede at the Love Parade dance music festival in the German city of Duisburg, police have said.

Police had been trying to stop people reaching the parade area because of overcrowding.

But the revellers panicked at a tunnel entrance. About 100 people were also injured, dozens seriously.

Police and city officials have launched an investigation into what sparked off the disaster.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has sent her condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

"Young people came to party. Instead, there was death and injury. I am aghast and saddened by the sorrow and the pain," she said.

Duisburg Mayor Adolf Sauerland defended security measures for the festival and vowed to hold a full inquiry.

"In the run-up to the event, we worked out a solid security plan with the organisers and everyone involved," he said.

"The investigations that have already been launched must uncover the precise course of events."

'Way too full'

More than one million people were believed to have attended the event.

The stampede occurred at about 1700 local time (1500 GMT).

Duisburg police initially reported 10 deaths but the toll later increased to 18.

At least 10 people were resuscitated at the scene.

Reuters news agency quoted police commissioner Juergen Kieskemper as saying the situation had become "very chaotic".

He said police closed the parade area due to overcrowding. Those trying to get in were told via loudhailer to turn around, but panic broke out.

A number of eyewitnesses say police were warned of a huge crowd build-up and some report seeing dozens of people piled up on one another, the BBC's Tristana Moore in Germany says.

Emergency workers reportedly had difficulty reaching those crushed.

One festival-goer, named Marius, told the Bild newspaper: "There was no escape. People were pressed into the wall. I was afraid I'd die."

Another man told local television: "The pressure from behind become so high that... we couldn't do anything any more. People were just pushed together until they fell over."

Another participant, Isabel Schloesser, told Reuters: "There were piles of injured on the ground, some being resuscitated, others dead and covered with sheets. It was way too full in the afternoon, everybody wanted to get in."

A young woman told Die Welt: "Everywhere you looked, there were people with blue faces.

"My boyfriend pulled me out over the bodies, otherwise we would both have died in there. How can I ever forget those faces? The faces of the dead."

Police closed off an elevated motorway bridge to allow helicopters to land and evacuate victims.

City officials were said to have chosen not to evacuate the grounds of the day-long festival immediately, fearing it might spark more panic.

City spokesman Frank Kopatschek said: "The crisis meeting determined not to stop the event because at the moment there are too many people on the grounds."

Many of those attending appeared unaware of what had happened.

German President Christian Wulff issued a statement saying: "It is terrible that such a catastrophe brought death, suffering and pain to a peaceful festival full of happy young people from many countries."

The event attracts music fans from all over the world, with floats from Brazil, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia among other nations.

The floats had been expected to parade through the city for 10 hours. Many top international DJs also perform.

The event began in Berlin in 1989 as a peace demonstration and developed into a huge open-air music festival.

Are you in Duisburg? Did you witness the stampede? Were you affected? Send us your comments using the form below.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to61124 (UK) or 0044 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. If you wish to remain anonymous, please say so in the box.

S Korea-US military exercise begins in the Sea of Japan

S Korea-US military exercise begins in the Sea of Japan

The US and South Korea have begun a major military exercise in the Sea of Japan, despite threats of retaliation from North Korea.

The navy and air force manoeuvres involve 20 ships, 200 planes and 8,000 US and South Korean personnel.

Washington and Seoul say they want to send a clear signal to the North following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

An international investigation said a North Korean torpedo sank the ship.

However, the claim has been angrily denied by Pyongyang.

On Saturday, North Korea threatened to use its nuclear deterrent in a retaliatory, "sacred war" in response to the exercise.

The BBC's John Sudworth, who is aboard one of the warships, says the show of strength is intended to rattle Pyongyang's military and political elite.

But some observers are questioning whether the display of military power will simply galvanise the hardliners inside the isolated country, he says.

North Korea's inflammatory rhetoric is nothing new, he adds, but the rising tension is causing concern, with China urging all parties to show restraint.

The South Korean defence ministry said the manoeuvres had been relocated from the sensitive Yellow Sea to the Sea of Japan following protests from China, North Korea's ally.

Border monitored

Amid the rising tension, military officials in Seoul said they were closely monitoring the North's military in border areas but had not detected any unusual activity in the run-up to the exercises, code-named Invincible Spirit.

The North's National Defence Commission denounced the war games as "nothing but outright provocations aimed to stifle the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [North Korea] by force of arms," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

"The army and people of the DPRK will start a retaliatory sacred war of their own style based on nuclear deterrent any time necessary in order to counter the US imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war," it added.

The US responded by saying it was "not interested in a war of words with North Korea".

The four-day drill includes the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and some 200 fixed-wing aircraft, officials said.

The sinking of the Cheonan warship claimed the lives of 46 South Korean sailors.