Islamabad, 1 Sep

Five Pakistan army personnel, including two officers, were killed on Monday after their helicopter crashed in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan region.

An MI-17 helicopter, on routine training, attempted to “crash-land” after developing a technical fault, the army said in a statement, adding that the accident occurred at around 1 am near Hudor village, about 12 kilometres away from Thakdas Cantonment, in Diamer.

Those killed 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,” it said.

Earlier, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said “one of our helicopters” crashed in Chilas area of Diamer district, killing five crew members.

His statement gave an impression that the helicopter belonged to the Gilgit-Baltistan government and that those killed also belonged to the regional government.

However, hours later the army’s media wing confirmed that it was an army aviation aircraft.

Separately, Diamer Senior Superintendent of Police Abdul Hameed said the helicopter was conducting a test landing on a newly-proposed helipad.

It is the second helicopter crash in recent weeks after a copter of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government crashed last month.