A Christian air hostess killed in Pakistan’s worst ever air disaster was laid to rest as the country observed a day of mourning yesterday for all 152 crash victims.

Bad weather has hampered search operations for bodies and the black box flight recorder of the Airbus A321 that slammed into a hillside outside Islamabad on July 28.

Six members of a youth parliament, eight children, 22 women, including two Christian flight attendants were among the dead.

Relatives of many of the victims are still waiting to claim the remains of their loved ones. Media reports say authorities have managed to identify at least 58 bodies so far and released them to their families.

One of them, 26-year-old flight attendant Sapna Munawar, a member of the Full Gospel Assembly Church, was buried yesterday in Wah, a military town near Islamabad. More than 500 people attended her funeral.

Father William Rahat, together with 14 pastors, conducted the ecumenical funeral service at the Full Gospel Assembly Church.

“We were shocked when we heard the scale of the disaster. Sapna was strong in prayers and perhaps it’s the reason her body was recovered quickly and intact,” said the assistant rector of Our Lady of Lourdes Minor Seminary in Rawalpindi as he prayed for other victims and their families.

Relatives and Church people in Karachi are also awaiting news of the remains of Naheed Bhatti, 27, the other Christian flight attendant. Bhatti was a member of the Church of Pakistan.

“We will hold her funeral soon. The identification of victims’ remains is proving difficult,” said catechist Rehmat Chaman.

The interior minister has yet to rule out terrorism as a cause of the crash.

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