Islamabad: Pakistani authorities
identified the remains of 95 people who died in the crash of
the Airblue airliner in hills near the federal capital even as
investigators intensified their search for the aircraft`s
black box in the hope that it would offer vital clues about
the accident.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the Senate or
upper house of parliament that the remains of 95 of the 152
people who died in the crash in the Margalla Hills on
Wednesday had been identified.
The remains of 78 victims had been handed over to
their relatives.
The remaining bodies were being handed over under a
laid down "standard operating procedure", Malik said while
responding to points raised by lawmakers.
They said the families of victims had complained about
inadequate arrangements being made to accommodate them and the
looting of belongings at the crash site.
The search operation at the thickly forested and
inaccessible crash site has been hampered by bad weather and
heavy rains.
Malik said all resources had been deployed to recover
bodies, belongings and the black box or flight data recorder.
Investigators spent a third day today searching for
the black box of the Airbus A321 aircraft that crashed while
on flight from the southern city of Karachi.
"We have recovered the remains of all the bodies.
Now our focus is on the investigation and we are searching
for any clue which can help us," Deputy Inspector General of
Police Bin Yamin said.
Aviation experts and other investigators are focusing
on the black box as it is expected to provide valuable clues
as to why the 10-year-old aircraft, which was piloted by a
captain with 35 years of experience, came down.
A five-member French team representing Airbus has
reached Islamabad and joined experts of the Civil Aviation
Authority in the investigation.
CAA spokesman Pervaiz George said the French team,
which arrived yesterday, would assist the six-member team
Pakistani committee conducting the inquiry into the crash.
The plane was attempting to land in bad weather and
poor visibility when it lost contact with the air traffic
control and crashed into the Margalla Hills.
PTI
