Government and Policy

Chinese leaders offer condolences over air crash in Pakistan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-29 09:19

BEIJING - President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday respectively sent condolence messages to their Pakistani counterparts after a deadly airplane crash that killed all the 152 people on board.

In his message, Hu, on behalf of the Chinese government and the people and in his personal name, conveyed to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari his profound condolences for the victims and sincere regards to the families of those killed in the worst plane crash ever in Pakistan.

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In a separate message, Premier Wen Jiabao extended to Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani his condolences for the victims and offered regards to the families of those killed.

Earlier Wednesday, an Airbus 321 carrying 152 people crashed minutes before it was supposed to land in Islamabad, killing everyone onboard, including at least 20 women and seven children as well as two Americans and a Somalian.

The Airblue flight carrying 146 passengers and six crew members left Karachi in the morning and lost contact with the control tower at the Islamabad airport shortly before the crash. The plane was on its way from Turkey to the Pakistani capital via Karachi.

The plane, which was manufactured in 2000, was leased in January 2006 by Airblue, a private service based in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, according to local media.

Also Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi sent a condolence message to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the deadly air crash and the serious casualties.