The Boeing 737, operated by local airline Bhoja Air, was flying to the capital from Pakistan`s biggest city and business hub Karachi. It crashed more than 5 miles (about 9 km) from the international airport, Reuters reported.
Aviation official Pervez George gave no details of casualties. Rescue workers, who combed muddy fields at the crash site with flashlights, said there was no chance of finding survivors.
Body parts, wallets and eyeglasses lay among wreckage strewn in a small settlement just outside Islamabad.
Residents said they had seen a ball of fire in the sky when the plane crashed. Parts of the aircraft smashed into electricity poles, blanketing the area in darkness.
Bhoja Air said the airplane crashed during its approach in Islamabad due to bad weather. There was no indication from the government that it could have been the result of foul play.
State television reported that all hospitals in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi had been put on high alert after Friday`s crash.
The last major aviation accident in Pakistan was in July 2010, when a commercial airliner operated by AirBlue with 152 people on board crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad.
In 2006, a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft crashed near the central city of Multan, killing 45 people.
(SYS/M014)
Editor: Suryanto
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