'Pakistani plane's fuel tanks exploded in mid-air'

Air traffic controllers at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport said the Bhoja Airlines plane that crashed killing all 127 occupants was properly positioned when it begun its approach.

Then, suddenly, it sharply descended, falling to 200 feet while still travelling at 300 miles an hour, three minutes before it was scheduled to land.

The pilot issued a mayday call, saying a fuel tank had caught fire and the plane was out of control. He asked for help to attempt an emergency landing, telling controllers he could see the roofs of homes but not the airport's landing strip.But the airliner descended 50 feet more before its tanks exploded, said a report by Pakistan's civil aviation authority.