A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight with more than 40 people on board has crashed in the north of the country.

Flight PK-661 “lost contact with the control tower on its way from Chitral to Islamabad a short while ago”, the airline said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told the BBC that the wreckage had not yet been found.

The national carrier has been accused of safety failures in the past. In the last major crash in 2006, 44 people died.

Quoting local media reports BBC said the plane came down in the Havelian area, about 70km (43 miles) north of Islamabad.

The plane took off from Chitral at around 10:00GMT (15:00 local time), losing contact 90 minutes later, shortly before it was due to arrive at its destination.

A famous former pop singer turned Islamic preacher, Junaid Jamshed, and his wife were on the flight’s passenger list.

Meanwhile, the army says it has dispatched troops and helicopters to the location.

The EU banned PIA flights from flying to Europe in 2007 over safety concerns.

BDST: 1956 HRS, DEC 07, 2016
SR