Volunteers carry an injured person at the site of a plane crash in Karachi on Friday. AP

Firefighters spray water on the wreckage of a PIA aircraft after it crashed at a residential area in Karachi. AFP

After the aircraft reportedly called off an earlier attempt to land and went around for a second attempt, a controller radioed the pilot of flight 8303 that he appeared to be turning left, suggesting he was off-course.

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The pilot replied, "We are returning back, sir, we have lost engines," and the controller cleared the plane to land on either of Karachi airport's two West-Southwest-facing runways.

Volunteers carry the body of a plane crash victim at the site of a crash in Karachi. AP

Twelve seconds later the pilot called "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" and was again cleared to use either runway. There was no further communication from the aircraft, reported to be an Airbus A320, according to the audio from liveatc.net, a respected source for in-flight recordings.

A combo photo of the ill-fated PIA's crew members.  

Karachi mayor says does not expect survivors from crashed plane

There are expected to be no survivors among those on board, the city's mayor Waseem Akhtar told Reuters.

Rescue workers move a body from the site after the crash. AFP

"At the moment we have the view that there will be no survivors from the plane itself but it is not confirmed," Akhtar said by phone from the scene of the crash. He said there were thought to be survivors from the area where the plane crashed.

Reuters