The crash of flight PK661, an ATR 42-500 with 47 souls on board, occurred after one of the plane's two turboprop engines failed at around 4:15 pm (1115 GMT).
Rescuers, including hundreds of villagers, pulled the charred remains from the wreckage of the aircraft, parts of which were found hundreds of metres away from the main site near the village of Saddha Batolni.
"No one survived," said a Civil Aviation Authority spokesman. His comments were confirmed by Danyal Gilani, a spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines.
An AFP reporter at the site said part of the plane was still on fire more than five hours after the crash, as rescuers picked up torn human remains with their hands and placed them in bags before they were taken by ambulance to Islamabad for identification.
Addressing a press conference, Azam Saigol, the airline's chairman said the plane was an ATR-42 turboprop aircraft, which contacted ground authorities after one engine failed and issued a Mayday call at 4:14 pm.
It began descending a minute later before disappearing from radar at 4:16 pm.
"This plane was technically sound, and was checked in October," he said, adding the captain had flown more than 12,000 hours and the aircraft was nine years old.
"Our focus now is to retrieve all the dead bodies," he added, vowing a full investigation.
A senior rescue official on the site who requested anonymity added: "The villagers told us that the plane was shaky before it crashed. It was about to hit the village but it seems that the pilot managed to drag the plane towards the hills.
The registration of the ATR was AP-BHO (CN 663) It had its first flight in 2007 and was delivered new to Pakistan International Airlines. In 2009 the aircraft was damaged during a landing attempt at Lahore. It was repaired and returned to service.
Aircraft history
| 3rd May 2007 | F-WWLU | ATR | First flight |
| 14th May 2007 | AP-BHO | PIA | Delivered to PIA |
| 30th May 2009 | AP-BHO | PIA | Damaged in runway accident, Lahore |
GOD BLESS
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