Pakistan Plane Carrying About 40 People Crashes in North

A plane carrying about 40 people crashed on the slope of a mountain in northern Pakistan on Wednesday, with witnesses at the site of the flaming wreckage saying there were unlikely to be any survivors.

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The military said 36 bodies had been recovered and rescue efforts involved about 500 soldiers, doctors and paramedics.

Pakistan International Airlines said its plane lost contact with the control tower en route to the capital, Islamabad, from the northern region of Chitral.

The airline said the plane crashed at 4:42 p.m. local time in the Havelian area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, about 77 miles north of Islamabad. The region is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Pakistan.

"All of the bodies are burned beyond recognition," Taj Muhammad Khan, a government official based in Havelian, told Reuters. "The debris is scattered."

The military said it had sent in troops and helicopters.