What to believe?

Hundreds of reporters and camera people have worked overtime for two days to gather information about the Bhoja Airline’s flight from Karachi that crashed near Islamabad on Friday evening, a couple of minutes before it was to land, killing all 127 people on board. Dozens of editors have pored over the information before it is presented to us, to make sure it is factual and corroborated by other available data and expertise. Thanks to the efforts of all these journalists, here is what we do know:

The incident took place in Hussainabad; it was actually Kural Chowk; the plane crashed near Chaklala; the crash site was 10 km from Islamabad airport; it was 15 km from the airport.

The plane landed hard on the ground, ballooned up, went through the trees and came down on a roof top; the plane blew up in air and the debris came raining down; it caught fire in the air but exploded on the ground; there was a mayday call seconds before landing; the pilot did not communicate any problem.

The cause of the accident is weather-related; the plane was struck by lightening; there’s frequent gunfire in the area and the plane may have been hit by a bullet; the plane was not air-worthy; the captain was new in the job and may have mishandled; the airline is a cheap operation that prefers to put hundreds of lives in danger rather than taking a detour and using up extra fuel; the cause of accident may not be known until a year.

According to Sunday papers the remains of all 127 dead bodies have been found (Express); search for 11 bodies still continues (several); 118 bodies have been identified and 116 handed over (The News); 117 handed over (Jang); 116 bodies recovered of which 108 have been identified and handed over (Dawn); 116 bodies identified and handed over (Express Tribune).

The doomed Boeing 737 aircraft was 27-28 years old (Dawn quoting FIR); the plane was 40 years old (Express Tribune editorial).

Bhoja Airline was licensed by the government of Nawaz Sharif and therefore Noon League is responsible for the tragedy; the airline operations were suspended during the Musharraf government and remained so till last month when the present government allowed it to resume operation, and therefore the responsibility for the crash lies with Gillani government.

 And the sickest bit: A relative of Air Blue victims two years ago, advising the relatives of Bhoja victims not to bury their dead before confirming through DNA tests that the remains given to them are indeed those of their loved ones. ‘When I went to Pims hospital to collect the remains, I was told to take any one I like,’ the man said on a TV channel.