UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday sent his condolences to Pakistan`s prime minister over the deadly crash of a Pakistani airliner with 152 people on board.

"The Secretary General is deeply saddened by the tragic air crash today near Islamabad in which many people lost their lives," a UN statement said.

It added that Ban wrote to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to express the sincere sympathy of the world body.

A Pakistani airliner carrying 152 people crashed in a ball of flames earlier Wednesday into densely wooded hills outside Islamabad amid heavy rain and poor visibility, killing everyone on board.

"Nobody survived," Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Express TV.

BDST: 0921 HRS, July 29, 2010