Naila Inayat

Special for USA TODAY

LAHORE, Pakistan — A Pakistan International Airlines flight with 48 people aboard crashed in a mountainous area of the country Wednesday, leaving no survivors, airline officials said.

The commercial flight, with 42 passengers, five crew members and one ground engineer, went missing shortly after taking off from the Pakistani city of Chitral for Islamabad, PIA said. Airline spokesman Daniyal Gilani said the plane had lost touch with control tower operators. The passengers included two infants, and a famous singer, Junaid Jamshed, as well as three foreigners from Australia, South Korea and China.

“All passengers and members of crew are dead,” Azam Sehgal, chairman of the PIA, said at a news conference at the Islamabad airport late Wednesday. He said the plane’s black box recorder had been found.

Sehgal said the pilot of the ATR-42 aircraft told the control tower at 4:09 p.m. that an engine had developed a technical problem. Moments later he made a “mayday call,” shortly before the plane disappeared. Sehgal said PIA 661 was fit to fly, and it was unclear what caused the crash.

"I think that there was no technical error or human error," Sehgal said. "Obviously, there will be a proper investigation.”

The crash site is about 45 miles west of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. State TV carried pictures of a huge fire near the crash site in a village.

Rescue team member Mohammad Kashif, told local broadcaster GEO TV that responders put out the fire by placing sand on the branches and area surrounding the crash site.

"The debris was scattered about 100 meters out. The plane fell in a ravine behind the mountains so the debris is not very scattered. People on the ground told me that the plane slammed onto the ground two or three times before it fell into the water," Kashif said. "There is no question of landing in this terrain for helicopters or planes. There are settlements on both sides of the crash site.”

At the Islamabad airport, family and friends of passengers and crew members waited for news earlier Wednesday, as Pakistani television broadcast pictures of the smoldering remains of the plane.

After the news broke that there were no survivors, some recalled fond memories of the captain, Mohammed Salehyar Janjua.

"He always said that flying there rejuvenated him," said Farooq Ali, a friend of Janjua's, referring to flying in northern Pakistan. "He was a very down-to-earth, humble person and I have lost a great friend in him."

Fans of former pop star Jamshed took to social media to mourn the singer, who was an icon in the '80s and '90s with his band Vital Signs before becoming an Islamic preacher and televangelist.

“Dear Junaid, I shall cherish all our memories together ... prayers for your final journey ... till we meet again,” tweeted singer Fakhar-e-Alam.

Pakistani singer Faakhir Mehmood credited Jamshed with the development of Pakistan's pop industry.

“He was the man who laid down the foundation of Pakistan’s pop music industry, and his contributions will be remembered for a long time," he told The Nation newspaper. "Most importantly, he used his iconic personality for the betterment of humanity and did a lot of charity work."

Friends of co-pilot Ahmed Janjua spoke about his philosophical take on flying.

“He would say ‘I love flying, I love to travel and that is why I made flying my passion,’” Anas Khan recalled. Janjua often compared flying to “an individual’s ups and downs in life.”

Hussain Ceen Tayyab of Karachi, a soccer colleague of Janjua's, said he will be missed.

"Ahmed (Janjua) actually came into this world to live his dream: His only dream was to become a pilot, and he lived to do that," he said. "Janjua was my friend, football colleague and a neighbor I will always miss. 12/8 will now be an unforgettable date."





Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his “deep grief and sorrow” over the crash.

“The entire nation is deeply saddened over today’s unfortunate crash and shares the grief of the families who lost their dear ones,” Shariff said in a statement.

In 2007, the European Union banned most PIA planes from flying to Europe because of its poor safety record. The ban was partly lifted for cargo flights in 2014.

The last major plane crash in Pakistan took place in 2012, when a Bhoja Air passenger plane went down in bad weather near Islamabad. All 130 people on board were killed. Two years earlier, an Airblue commercial flight crashed into the hillside outside Islamabad while trying to land, killing all 152 people on board.