Volunteers look for survivors after a plane crashed into a residential area of Karachi.Credit:AP
Southern Sindh province,of which Karachi is the capital,is the epicentre of virus infections in Pakistan. The province has nearly 20,000 of the country's more than 50,000 cases.
A transmission of the pilot's final exchange with air traffic control,posted on the website LiveATC.net,indicated he had failed to land and was circling around to make another attempt.
"We are proceeding direct,sir - we have lost engine,"a pilot said.
"Confirm your attempt on belly,"the air traffic controller said,offering a runway.
"Sir - mayday,mayday,mayday,mayday Pakistan 8303,"the pilot said before the transmission ended.
In one of the radio communications,at least one exchange from the flight sounded like a warning alarm was sounding in the cockpit.
Witnesses said the Airbus appeared to try to land two or three times.
An injured woman is carried away from the site of the crash.Credit:AP
A resident of the area,Abdul Rahman,said he saw the aircraft circle at least three times,appearing to try to land before it crashed into several houses.
Another witness,Shakeel Ahmed,said:"The aeroplane first hit a mobile tower and crashed over houses."
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted:"Shocked&saddened by the PIA crash... Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers&condolences go to families of the deceased."
Science Minister Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry said this year has been a"catastrophe - just survival is so difficult,"with the pandemic and now the tragedy of the plane crash.
The flight from the north-eastern city of Lahore typically lasts about an hour and a half.
Mohammad Zubair,pictured in a hospital bed,survived the plane crash in Karachi.Credit:Sind Press Information Department,via AP
Airworthiness documents showed the plane last received a government check on November 1,2019. PIA's chief engineer signed a separate certificate on April 28 saying all maintenance had been conducted. It said"the aircraft is fully airworthy and meets all the safety"standards.
Ownership records for the Airbus A320 showed China Eastern Airlines flew the plane from 2004 until 2014. The plane then entered PIA's fleet,leased from GE Capital Aviation Services.
Perry Bradley,a spokesman for GE,said the firm was"aware of reports of the accident and is closely monitoring the situation".
Airbus said the plane had logged 47,100 flight hours and 25,860 flights as of Friday. The plane had two CFM56-5B4 engines.
Airbus said it would provide technical assistance to investigators in France and Pakistan,as well as the airline and engine manufacturers.
"We at Airbus are deeply saddened by the tragic news of flight #PK8303,"tweeted Executive Director Guillaume Faury."My thoughts and those of my Airbus colleagues,go to the families and loved ones affected. In aviation,we all work hard to prevent this. Airbus will provide full assistance to the investigating authorities."
In Pakistan's most recent deadly crash,47 people died when a PIA jet smashed into a mountainside in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in 2016. The country's worst plane disaster came in 2010 when an AirBlue flight crashed,killing 152 people near Islamabad.