"God Has Been Merciful," says PIA plane crash survivor

Karachi : At least one passenger survived the crash of a Pakistani airliner that went down on Friday in a residential area of Karachi, a government official said.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah inquired after the health of banker Zafar Mahmood, who miraculously survived, a provincial government spokesman Abdur Rashid Channa said in a statement.

When the chief minister said "Murad is here", the survivor replied "Thank you so much. God has been merciful", the statement said.

Pakistan's civil aviation authority said there had been 91 passengers and eight crew onboard the Airbus A320.