Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A Pakistani passenger plane, with 152 people on board, crashed on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad Wednesday morning.
Six hours later, rescue crews recovered 45 bodies from the wreckage, said Ramzan Sajid, a spokesman for the Capital Development Authority.
Also, eight people were pulled out alive, said Qamar Zaman Kaira, Pakistan's information minister.
The Airblue plane was headed to Islamabad from the sea port city of Karachi when it crashed in a hillside while trying to land, said Pervez George, a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority.
The Airbus was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members, George said.
"It came from the city toward the Margalla Hills. It was raining heavily," said area resident Ahsan Mukhtar who saw the plane go down. "It shattered into pieces as soon as it crashed. A burst of flames came off, but the rain put out the fire".
The Margalla Hills are a series of small hills north of Islamabad.
CNN
