Relatives join search for bodies

The Civil Aviation Authority said the plane had been ordered to take an alternative approach to the runway,but had veered off course. Finding out why it crashed will be a key task,said Riazul Haq,director general of the agency. The fact remains it flew where it should not have done, he said.

Army and civilian rescue workers searched the hills,but the tough conditions slowed the pace of operations. Helicopters could not fly in the heavy rain and low clouds,said a spokesman for the Capital Development Authority.

Relatives of passengers were seen working with soldiers and other rescuers at the site,where the undercarriage of the jet had come to rest. Dozens of relatives and friends of those killed slept outside Islamabads largest hospital overnight,hoping to receive bodies. They were still there on Thursday morning,hugging one another as their tears mixed with the heavy rain,but few corpses were released.

The planes black box flight data recorders have yet to be recovered. Information extracted from them is needed to determine the cause of the crash.

Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and other officials have said the government does not suspect terrorism.

The remains,tied in bags by rescuers,were airlifted and transported to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. Officials were quoted on Thursday morning as saying that the remains of 68 victims had been identified while those of 58 had been handed over to relatives.

Most of the remains were mutilated and charred,making the process of identification very difficult. Authorities set up a special facility at a community centre to conduct DNA tests on relatives of victims to identify the remaining bodies.

The US Embassy said at least two US citizens were on the plane.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani declared Thursday a day of national mourning and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast across the country.