Islamabad, July 30: A Pakistani military aircraft crashed in a residential area in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), media wing of the country's armed forces, said on Tuesday. Five crew members and 12 civilians were killed in the crash. The crash caused a fire in the city, which was later extinguished by authorities. The aircraft, which belonged to the Pakistani military, was on a training flight.

The aircraft crashed near an upscale neighbourhood in the garrison city home to the army's headquarters. An AFP reporter who was at the crash site witnessed smoke billowing from the wreckage and destroyed homes. Wreckages of the plane were visible on a nearby roof, he said. The entire area was cordoned off by Pakistani military officials. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. IAF Intercepts Georgian Plane Coming From Pakistan.

Pakistan has a chequered aviation safety record, with plane and helicopter crashes frequently over the years. In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from remote northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people. Pakistan Indicates F-16s Might Have Been Used to Hit Indian Aircraft.

The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad while coming into land, killing all 152 onboard. (With agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2019 08:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).