Close X
Saturday, September 21, 2024
ADVT 
International

Norway, Philippines Envoys Among Seven Dead In Pakistan Chopper Crash

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 May, 2015 01:28 PM
  • Norway, Philippines Envoys Among Seven Dead In Pakistan Chopper Crash
The ambassadors of the Philippines and Norway were among seven people killed on Friday in a chopper crash in Pakistan's Naltar valley near Gilgit.
 
Even as the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the crash was caused by an attack it carried out, the army said the chopper "developed technical fault" while landing, media reports said. 
 
In an update on Twitter, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Bajwa said the dead included four foreigners -- Ambassadors Domingo D. Lucinerio Jr. of the Philippines and Leif Larsen of Norway and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors -- and three Pakistanis -- two pilots and one crew member.
 
He said that according to initial information, two helicopters belonging to the Pakistan Army landed safely "while the third developed technical fault while landing", which caused the accident.
 
He ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity, according to Dawn online.
 
The Pakistan Army helicopter crash-landed on a school, the report said, adding that Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink and Polish Ambassador Andrzej Ananicz were injured in the incident.
 
Earlier, in a series of tweets, Bajwa said that six Pakistanis and 11 foreigners were on board the MI-17 helicopter.
 
Three helicopters were carrying a delegation of foreign diplomats and their wives and aides to Gilgit-Baltistan, where they were scheduled to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. 
 
"It was a diplomatic trip with members of 37 countries in total," said a passenger in one of the helicopters, who requested anonymity, adding that the school caught fire after the chopper crashed on it.
 
Expressing grief over the death of the envoys, Sharif has announced a one-day mourning, Associated Press of Pakistan reported. He was scheduled to visit Gilgit on Friday for the inauguration of two projects.
 
Shortly after the incident, the injured were taken to a military hospital in Gilgit, officials said.
 
A board of inquiry has been constituted to investigate the cause of the crash.

MORE International ARTICLES

Search on for suspected murderer of six people in US

Search on for suspected murderer of six people in US
Police officers continued their search Monday for an armed man suspected of killing six people at three different crime scenes on the outskirts of Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania....

Search on for suspected murderer of six people in US

Gunman in Sydney hostage crisis was known to police: PM

Gunman in Sydney hostage crisis was known to police: PM
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed Tuesday that the gunman at the centre of the Sydney siege, in which two hostages were shot dead...

Gunman in Sydney hostage crisis was known to police: PM

Peshawar School Attack: 141, Mostly Children, Killed By Pakistani Taliban

Peshawar School Attack: 141, Mostly Children, Killed By Pakistani Taliban
The horrifying attack was carried out by a group of paramilitary uniform-wearing terrorists who stormed the Army Public School complex in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan

Peshawar School Attack: 141, Mostly Children, Killed By Pakistani Taliban

Peshawar Siege: Pakistani Taliban Attack Peshawar School, 104 Killed Including 84 Children

Peshawar Siege: Pakistani Taliban Attack Peshawar School, 104 Killed Including 84 Children
As many as 84 children were among a staggering 104 people killed when heavily armed terrorists launched a brazen attack on an army-run school in Pakistan's Peshawar city.

Peshawar Siege: Pakistani Taliban Attack Peshawar School, 104 Killed Including 84 Children

Michelle Obama Continues First Lady Tradition Of Bringing Holiday Cheer To Hospitalized Kids

Michelle Obama Continues First Lady Tradition Of Bringing Holiday Cheer To Hospitalized Kids
WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama says Christmas pyjamas may be on her list for Christmas.

Michelle Obama Continues First Lady Tradition Of Bringing Holiday Cheer To Hospitalized Kids

Denmark claims North Pole through Arctic underwater ridge link from Greenland

Denmark claims North Pole through Arctic underwater ridge link from Greenland
COPENHAGEN — Scientific data shows Greenland's continental shelf is connected to a ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean, giving Danes a claim to the North Pole and any potential energy resources beneath it, Denmark's foreign minister said.

Denmark claims North Pole through Arctic underwater ridge link from Greenland