Pakistan mourns victims of its worst-ever air crash

An Airbus A321 crashed as it was about to land in the capital Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board.

The domestic flight from the southern city of Karachi was operated by the private Pakistani airline Airblue, which has a good safety record.

There is no word on the cause of the crash. It happened in heavy monsoon rain and poor visibility.

The plane - with 146 passengers and six crew on board - was flying at an extremely low level before crashing into the Margalla hills north of the capital, eyewitnesses said.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared Thursday a day of national mourning and ordered flags to fly at half-mast across the country.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said 115 bodies had been recovered, but bad weather and difficult terrain had hampered recovery efforts.

Passengers' remains were badly damaged in the crash and DNA tests would be used to identify the victims, he told reporters.

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