Article Posted on : - Jun 04, 2014

Pakistan's Mirage fighter. A PAF photo

KARACHI (PTI): A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Mirage jet on a training mission crashed Tuesday at a bus terminal on the outskirts of the city, killing at least four persons, including both the pilots.

The fighter plane crashed into the bus terminal in the Yousuf Goth neighbourhood and those killed included both pilots and two civilians.

Sajid Sadozai, a senior police official, said two buses parked at the terminal were destroyed while another was damaged. A number of nearby buildings also suffered structural damage.

Eight people on the ground were injured in the incident.

"The injured included people who were near the bus terminal when the crash took place," he said.

A PAF spokesman confirmed that both pilots flying the training jet had died in the crash, but could not give a cause for the incident.

The spokesman said a Wing Commander and a Squadron Leader were on routine operational training mission when the incident happened.

TV footage showed plumes of black smoke rising from the site as rescue teams rushed in.

The terminal also caught fire but it was controlled by the fire fighters.

PAF spokesman Air Commodore Tariq Mahmood said, "...as per the rules will provide compensation to the loss of life, property and medical expenses of the injured."

A board of inquiry has been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of accident.

Mahmood said PAF immediately dispatched fire tenders and ambulances for the rescue and relief operations at the site of crash.