Provisional report will be made public on June 22
Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar on Thursday said that provisional investigation report of the PIA airplane crash will be made public on 22nd of next month.
Addressing a media persons in Islamabad, he said investigation process would be free, fair and transparent and without any influence.
Sarwar said the prime minister met the inquiry board and directed them to conduct a thorough probe into the causes of the air crash.
The report will not give reprieve to any person responsible for the incident, the minister said.
"There have been 12 plane crashes in our recent history, including the one last week," he said, adding that the prime minister's main concern was to ascertain the causes of these delays.
"As the aviation minister, I will, therefore, try my best to release a provisional investigation report during the parliamentary sessions by June 22," he said.
Sarwar further said the said report would reveal not just the reasons behind the recent crash in Karachi but would also "briefly" touch upon the reasons for the delay in the reports of previous air crashes.
The aviation minister also revealed that an 11-member team, comprising experts from Airbus and representatives from the French government and the engine manufacturers, had reached Karachi on May 26.
"They [the members of the team] are currently investigating the causes of the air crash. And they will share their findings with our inquiry board," Sarwar said.
He said investigation board has the authority to include any stakeholder during investigation.
The minister said recorders for voice conversation and data have been recovered, which will be taken to France by an Airbus team for decoding and further analysis.
Sarwar said 51 bodies had been identified so far after their DNA tests were held and handed over to their relatives.
He said remaining bodies were in various morgues and were being DNA tested.
He said the government would give a compensation of one million rupees to relatives of each deceased, while the two survivors would be given Rs500,000 each.
He said the insurance money would be in addition to this amount.
The minister said he held teleconference with the PIA management immediately after the plane crash.
He said team of Airbus reached Karachi on 26th of this month. He said 12 to 15 houses were badly damaged when the plane hit them, adding that 97 out of 99 people were martyred in the accident.
Sarwar said the causes of the accident were a concern for the entire country, and not just of those whose families had lost their loved ones.
"We are all deeply concerned as to why these crashes keep happening," he said.
The federal aviation minister also said the government would offer compensation to the residents of the area whose houses were impacted by the crash.
"I met many aggrieved people on the ground when I visited the accident site," Sarwar said, as he announced that the government would start the rehabilitation process in the area once experts had concluded their estimates.
Responding to a question on whether there was a technical fault that caused the accident, Sarwar requested TV anchors and journalists to refrain from discussing the technical aspects of the crash, saying that only the experts could answer their queries.
"Look, if there was a technical fault in the plane, it must have been recorded. In other words, we will find out one way or the other soon," Sarwar said.
"Voice and data records have been found. I believe one was found earlier today. The French authorities will take these records back to France to decode them. There are technical questions that you or I can't answer. So we will wait for experts to tell us," he added.
Sarwar also said that the domestic flight operation had not been impacted in the aftermath of the accident.
"No, the domestic operation continues as usual. And the PIA is also repatriating stranded overseas Pakistanis. In fact, we will soon increase the number of domestic flights," Sarwar concluded.
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