The plane crashed in a residential area of Karachi - Copyright Fareed Khan/Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying 99 passengers and eight crew has crashed in Karachi, according to officials.

There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties.

The aircraft was arriving in the southern city from Lahore, in the country�s northeast, when it crashed in the Model Colony neighbourhood several kilometres from Jinnah International Airport, according to local reports.

Model Colony is poor area of the city, and is heavily congested.

Eyewitness video captured at the scene of the crash shows plane debris scattered across the floor of the residential area.

An aircraft door lays on the ground, having hit and dented a nearby vehicle. Other vehicles are set on fire, while thick black smoke billows in the background.

Another video shows roofs of several buildings that have been ripped off, while people are seen trying to venture toward the wall of smoke.

One journalist said a close relative of hers had been on the flight and was believed to have survived. She offered no other details.

Pakistan�s Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was shocked and saddened by the news, adding that he was in contact with the airline�s chief executive, who was en route to Karachi to meet the rescue teams.

He said an immediate investigation had been launched, and sent condolences to the families of those who had died.

A spokesperson for the Pakistan armed forces wrote on Twitter that a provision had been sent for full assistance to civil authorities working to rescue victims from the site.

It is not yet clear what caused the crash.

According to flight records published by Flightradar 24, the aircraft had aborted an earlier landing attempt at several hundred feet, before making another climb.

It then lost contact with air traffic control from 525 feet.

This is corroborated by witnesses, who say they watched the plane try to make several attempts at landing before it crashed.