( CNN ) -- A plane crashed early Sunday in the southern port city of Karachi , killing at least eight people on board and sending flames shooting through the night sky , a Pakistani official said . The cargo plane took off at 1:45 a.m. from the Jinnah Karachi International Airport for Khartoum , Sudan , said Pervez George , a spokesman for Pakistan 's Civil Aviation Authority . It went down a few minutes later in the Gulistan-e Johar section of Karachi , an area where many Pakistani naval officers live . Masood Raza , a Karachi district government official , told CNN affiliate GEO News in Pakistan that the pilot appeared to deliberately bring the plane down in a less densely populated residential area in order to save lives . `` If the plane would have crashed in a ( more crowded ) residential area , it would have been a very big disaster for the city of Karachi , '' Raza said . All eight people confirmed dead were members of the downed aircraft 's crew and all are Russian nationals , said George . A local hospital spokesman told CNN that the hospital had received five bodies by 4 a.m . The Russian-made cargo plane was carrying relief supplies , including tents , to Africa before it went down . The plane arrived in Karachi on Saturday from Fujairah , United Arab Emirates , George said . An eyewitness told CNN that he saw fire on one of the plane 's wings before it crashed . Firefighters , rescue personnel and area residents rushed to the scene , with jet fuel fanning the large flames and huge plumes of smoke . The blaze was put out by 4 a.m. , according to George , at which point rescue personnel continued to comb through the rubble looking for other people possibly killed or hurt . The plane appeared to hit several buildings under construction . Hospital sources told GEO News that Mohammed Raees had burns over 60 percent of his body , resulting from the crash and subsequent fire . Raees told GEO News that he was hurt after flaming parts of a building hit him and the motorcyle he was preparing to ride .
NEW : # ##ly the pilot saved lives by guiding the plane to a less crowded area . Firefighters put out blaze caused by cargo plane crash in the southern suburbs of Karachi . The plane hit buildings under construction in an area housing Pakistani naval base . All 8 killed were Russian crew members of the Sudan - bound flight .