A jetliner with 98 people on board crashed Friday in a populated area near the airport in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, according to aviation authorities.

Flight PK-8303 operated by Pakistan International Airlines crashed at 2:33 p.m., according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

The plane departed Lahore, capital of Punjab province, at 1 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Karachi at 2:45 p.m., a CAA spokesman said, adding that the Airbus A320 was carrying 91 passengers and seven crew.

Shortly before radio contact was lost, the plane's pilot reported to the control tower that he had lost one of the plane's two engines and requested an emergency landing, according to the CAA.

Around six houses in the neighborhood of Jinnah Gardens were damaged, local media reported. TV footage showed a number of cars on fire.

Army troops have already reached the crash site for relief and rescue efforts alongside civil authorities, according to the media wing of the armed forces.

==Kyodo

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