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Pakistan air force jet crashes, killing 3

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistan air force fighter jet crashed into the country’s largest city after a technical fault Tuesday, killing two pilots and a civilian on the ground, authorities said.

Air force spokesman Tariq Mahmood said the Mirage jet was on a routine training mission when it went down at a bus terminal in the Yousuf Goth neighborhood in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

Shortly after the crash, local news channels showed its burning wreckage as firefighters worked to douse the flames.

Mahmood identified the slain pilots as Wing Commander Khurram Sammad and Squadron Leader Umair Elahi.

He said a board of inquiry had been formed to determine what caused the crash, and the air force would compensate for the loss of life and civilian property. The Pakistan air force provided no details about any civilian losses, but police officer Sajid Sadozai said one civilian was killed and three buses were damaged in the crash.

He said authorities have transported all the dead to hospitals in the city.

Pakistan’s air force has suffered similar crashes in the past.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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