Ghulam Sarwar Khan. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
KARACHI: Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Saturday announced that a transparent inquiry would be conducted into Friday’s air crash in Karachi, which took the lives of 97 passengers and promised to present the findings in parliament.
Talking to reporters after visiting the crash site and addressing a news conference in Karachi, the minister did not give a timeframe for the presentation of the inquiry report but said he would endeavour to get it done in three months.
The minister also revealed that a counter inquiry by the French and German experts belonging to the Airbus company, the manufacturer of the doomed A320, would also be conducted to ascertain the cause of the crash.
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Lahore, with 99 people on board, crashed into a residential area near Karachi airport on Friday afternoon. Officials confirmed on Saturday that only two passengers survived the crash, adding that there was significant damage on the ground also.
At the news conference, where PIA Chief Executive Officer Arshad Malik was also present, the minister announced compensation for the families of those killed in the crash. He said the families of each deceased would receive Rs1 million, while the two survivors would be given Rs500,000 each.
Soon after the incident, the prime minister ordered an immediate inquiry into the plane crash. Later, the Aviation Division formed a four-member committee, headed by Air Commodore Usman Ghani, the president of the Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board (AAIB), to investigate the PK8303 accident.
Talking to reporters after visiting the crash site, the minister said that there would be two inquiries. “There will be one departmental inquiry. The government has already notified the inquiry board, comprising senior and qualified officers of the Pakistan Air Force. They will conduct an independent inquiry,” he said.
“They will not be alone in conducting the inquiry. Alongside them, the Airbus, which manufactured the plane, will also conduct a counter-inquiry. Their experts, including French and German experts, will also come. They will also carry out their counter inquiry,” he added.
“So, there is no doubt that it will be a fair inquiry. I cannot give a timeframe [but] as a responsible person, I promise that the reports of both these inquiries will be made public and presented before parliament and the people as soon as possible.”
He said that anyone found responsible for the tragedy in the inquiry would be brought to justice. The government, he added, would take “100%” responsibility if there was any negligence leading to the crash. “Whoever is responsible, they will be made to resign.”
Referring to recent air crashes in Chitral and Gilgit, he said that delay in the probes into these incidents was like “justice delayed is justice denied”. “It is an institutional weakness if the investigation reports are not finalised and not made public,” he said. “We will try to complete it [probe] within three months.”
The minister said that the first phase of the rescue operation, which continued for 15 hours, had been completed. He praised the army, civil aviation, Rangers, police, district administration, the Edhi Foundation and citizens who took part in the rescue work.
He said that assessment of the damage to the affected houses at the crash site was underway and the federal government would bear the cost of the repair of the damaged houses and vehicles and other losses on the ground.
The minister said that the families of those who were killed would receive Rs1 million each while the two survivors would be given Rs500,000 each. “The federal government will pay for the construction of the entire houses and the loss of vehicles,” he said.
The minister said that the pilot of the ill-fated flight “tried his best” to bring the plane to the runway. “The pilot tried to minimise the damage and the plane crashed in a sparsely-populated area,” he told the media.
Sarwar said that the top priority at the moment was the handover of the bodies to the relatives. On the occasion, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said that DNA tests were underway. He also said that a specialist team had come from Lahore to assist in this regard.
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