Pakistani girl dies of her injuries from Karachi plane crash

Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK-8303 crashed into busy residential area last month, killing 97 passengers and crew

Mourners offer funeral prayers beside the coffins of four members of the same family who died in the crash in Karachi. AFP

A Pakistani girl who was critically injured last month when a passenger plane fell on a crowded neighbourhood of Karachi, has died at a hospital, doctors said on Tuesday.

The girl, 12, was among four residents who were injured when the Airbus A320 crashed near Karachi airport on May 22, slamming into their packed residential area and setting off a huge fire.

She died on Monday from severe burns, said Rubina Bashir, a doctor at a government hospital where the girl was treated.

The remaining three injured local residents are still in hospital.

Initial reports said the Pakistan International Airlines jet crashed after an apparent engine failure.

Flight PK-8303 took off from the eastern city of Lahore and was trying to land at Karachi airport when it crashed.

At least 18 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Meanwhile, the plane’s black box flight recorders were sent to France.

The Airbus A320 crash killed 97 passengers and crew members. Two passengers survived.

In France, investigators successfully downloaded material from the voice and data recorders on Tuesday, French air accident investigation agency Bea said.

Pakistani air accident investigators and experts from Airbus and the engine maker met to discuss the investigation, and the data is being analysed, the Bea said.

The agency has years of experience in investigating major plane crashes, and is involved because the aircraft was made by French aerospace giant Airbus.

The crash took place just days after Pakistan lifted some restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic and resumed domestic flights before the Eid Al Fitr holiday.

Pakistan had been in a countrywide lockdown since mid-March because of the virus.

When flights resumed, every second seat was left vacant to promote social distancing, including on the doomed PIA flight.

On Tuesday, Pakistan's health authorities reported more than 76,000 cases of the virus so far, including 1,621 deaths.