Five Pakistan army personnel, including two officers, died when a military helicopter went down in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, in the early hours of Monday.
According to a statement by the army, an MI-17 helicopter was on a routine training mission when it developed a technical fault and attempted to “crash-land”. The accident took place at around 1 AM near Hudor village, about 12 kilometres from Thakdas Cantonment in Diamer.
The victims were identified as major Atif, pilot in command; major Faisal, co-pilot; Naib Subedar Maqbool, flight engineer; Havilar Jahangir, crew chief; and Naik Amir, crew chief.
“Training missions are part of routine activities of army aviation to maintain operational readiness for performing tasks varying from operational support to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” the statement said as quoted by PTI.
Earlier, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq had said that “one of our helicopters” had crashed in the Chilas area of Diamer district, killing five crew members.
His remarks created the impression that the aircraft and its crew were part of the regional administration.
Hours later, the army’s media wing clarified that the helicopter belonged to army aviation.
Separately, Diamer senior superintendent of Police Abdul Hameed said the helicopter was attempting a test landing on a newly-proposed helipad at the time of the crash.
This is the second such incident in recent weeks.
Last month, a helicopter belonging to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government also crashed.
According to a statement by the army, an MI-17 helicopter was on a routine training mission when it developed a technical fault and attempted to “crash-land”. The accident took place at around 1 AM near Hudor village, about 12 kilometres from Thakdas Cantonment in Diamer.
The victims were identified as major Atif, pilot in command; major Faisal, co-pilot; Naib Subedar Maqbool, flight engineer; Havilar Jahangir, crew chief; and Naik Amir, crew chief.
“Training missions are part of routine activities of army aviation to maintain operational readiness for performing tasks varying from operational support to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” the statement said as quoted by PTI.
Earlier, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq had said that “one of our helicopters” had crashed in the Chilas area of Diamer district, killing five crew members.
His remarks created the impression that the aircraft and its crew were part of the regional administration.
Hours later, the army’s media wing clarified that the helicopter belonged to army aviation.
Separately, Diamer senior superintendent of Police Abdul Hameed said the helicopter was attempting a test landing on a newly-proposed helipad at the time of the crash.
This is the second such incident in recent weeks.
Last month, a helicopter belonging to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government also crashed.
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