Pakistan observes air crash anniversary

Pakistan observed the first anniversary yesterday of its worst aviation accident involving a commercial plane crash that killed 152 people, including six crew members. The Air Blue flight from Karachi crashed in the Margalla Hills, about 20km north of the capital Islamabad, as it was circling in heavy monsoon rain while waiting for the runway to be cleared for landing. Dozens of relatives were flown by Air Blue from Karachi and other parts of the country to Islamabad to attend the memorial ceremony at the crash site on the hilltop, where the government has built a monument. There were emotional scenes when the relatives arrived at the scene where they had attempted a year ago to find the remains of loved ones, as torrential rains and difficult terrain hampered the rescue work. Relatives expressed dissatisfaction over investigations into the crash and compensation to the victim families. “We do not know what is the outcome of the investigations,” said Muhammad Younas who lost his brother, Mohamed Yousuf, in the crash.  “We want to know what caused the tragedy. No one has been held officially responsible for the crash, and the government has refused to reveal the findings of an investigation team which completed its work in April and submitted a report. But local English-language daily The News said yesterday that pilot negligence and a technical fault caused the disaster. Relatives also criticized delays in paying compensation, as only 48 families have been paid Rs500,000 each ($5,882). They have also not received insurance payments. Some angry relatives refused to accept the compensation until the investigation is completed. “We do not want money, we want that the real cause of the tragedy should be brought to light,” said Ghazala Rana, who lost her son, Asad. Air Blue is a relatively small private airline that has been operating since 2004. It uses new Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft on domestic routes and international flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat, Manchester and Sharjah.