Agencies 
   
MULTAN, July 10:  A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Fokker turbo-prop plane carrying 41 passengers and four crew members crashed into a field and burst into flames on Monday, officials said.             

There are no survivors, agency reports said. 

People are gathered near the wreckage of a Pakistani Fokker F-27 twin-engine passenger plane (AP photo)

Rescue officials said they had pulled at least 10 badly burned bodies from the wreckage of the aircraft near the central city of Multan.          

The plane bound for the eastern city of Lahore crashed minutes after it took off at 12:05 p.m., Multan airport manager Syed Amir Mahmood said.          

 Civil Aviation Authority director general Pervez Akhtar also confirmed that the plane had crashed, adding that he hoped there would be survivors but had no further details.     He said the cause of the crash was not yet known.     

One official at the site, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane tried to land in the field after developing an apparent technical fault but struck an electricity cable.             

Flames were rising from the scene of the crash at Suraj Miani, about five kilometres (three miles) from the centre of Multan, private GEO television said.             

The wreckage was in an open field with no signs of survivors, the station's correspondent at the scene said.         

Ambulance workers had recovered at least 10 bodies, said Irfan Ahmad, a doctor with the Edhi Foundation, Pakistan's largest charity.          

"The plane is still on fire, it is taking some time for the relief work," he said. "The bodies are completely burned."           

Police had cordoned off the scene and were keeping local people away from the area.     

PIA's ageing fleet of Fokker aircraft came under scrutiny last year over the number of hours they had flown. They are due to be replaced by new ATR 42 aircraft.