Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday expressed “grief” and “shock” over the plane crash near Islamabad that killed 152 people.
In a message to his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister said: “I have learnt with deep shock of the tragic plane crash this morning near Islamabad resulting in the loss of so many valuable lives.”

“On behalf of the government and the people of India, I convey my heartfelt condolences and sympathies to you and through you to the bereaved families at this time of sorrow,” he said in a statement issued here.

He also conveyed his “best wishes for the speedy recovery of all those who have been injured” in the “most unfortunate tragedy”.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also “conveyed deep condolences”.

In a message to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Krishna “conveyed deep condolences on behalf of the people and government of India to the people and government of Pakistan, especially to the bereaved families”.

This is the first time Krishna has written to Qureshi after the July 15 talks the two held in Islamabad which stalled over conflicting perceptions on terror and Jammu and Kashmir.

Recently, Qureshi sent a condolence message to Krishna over the train accident in West Bengal that killed over 60 people.

All 152 people on board a private Pakistani airline flight from Karachi were killed when the jet crashed amid heavy rain in the thickly wooded Margalla Hills near Islamabad Wednesday morning.

Airblue flight 202, coming in from Turkey via Karachi, abruptly lost contact with the airport here and crashed near the popular Damanekoh resort at about 9.45 a.m., about two hours after it had taken off from Karachi.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed that nobody had survived the crash. There were 152 people on board the Airbus A-321, including six crew members.