A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane crashed in the central city of Multan today and killed all 45 people on board, police said.
Flight PK 688, carrying 41 passengers and four crew, had left Multan for Lahore and the capital Islamabad but crashed 10 minutes after take-off, airport officials said.
The Fokker plane crashed near a state primary school, around three kilometres from the airport.
"I saw the plane diving downwards. It hit electricity wires and then crashed after hitting a wall of an orchard," said a farmer who was working in his fields. "All of a sudden it caught fire."
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has ordered an inquiry. Senior ranking members of the military and judiciary were among the passengers, according to officials.
PIA has seven other Fokkers in its fleet. The aircraft that crashed was bought 37 years ago.
Late last year, the airline ordered seven new planes from a French company to replace its Fokkers.
