Pakistani Flight Crashes Into Mountain en Route to Islamabad

— -- A Pakistan International Airlines flight headed to Islamabad from Chitral has crashed into a mountain in Pakistan after losing contact with the control tower shortly after takeoff, according to the airline.

A statement released by the airline said the crash occurred at 4:42 p.m. local time, near the small village of Saddha Batolni. Danyal Gillani, a representative for the airline, said earlier that air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 4:30 p.m. local time.

Controllers reported that they had received a distress signal from the pilot.

There were 42 passengers and six crew members on board the aircraft, an ATR-42.

An airline official told ABC News the wreckage of the flight has been found and police have recovered some bodies. It is unclear whether there are any survivors.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News' Habibullah Khan and Benjamin Gittleson contributed to this report.