Pakistani Flight Crashes Into Mountain En Route to Islamabad

A Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane arrives at the Benazir International airport in Islamabad, Pakistan, Dec. 2, 2015. Faisal Mahmood/Reuters

ABC News – A Pakistan International Airlines flight headed to Islamabad from Chitral has crashed into a mountain after losing contact with the control tower shortly after takeoff, according to Danyal Gillani, a spokesperson for the airline.

There were 42 passengers and six crew on board the flight.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 4:30 p.m. local time. They believe the plane crashed 12 minutes later, Gillani told ABC News.

Controllers reported that they had received a distress signal from the pilot.

An airline official told ABC News the wreckage of the flight has been found and that police have recovered some bodies. It is unclear if there are any survivors.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.