Chinese president mourns Pakistan plane crash victims

Beijing, April 21 (IANS) Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday expressed his deep condolences to his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari over Friday's plane crash near Islamabad in which all 127 people on board were killed.

Hu, in his message, mourned the tragic loss of life and expressed sincere sympathy to the families of the victims on behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, as well as on a personal basis, Xinhua reported.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also sent messages of condolences to their counterparts in Pakistan Saturday.

The Islamabad-bound Boeing 737 with 118 passengers and nine crew members crashed Friday, minutes before it was to land at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad, due to bad weather.