Close X
Monday, November 11, 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

Many women desperate to be IS fighters' jihadi brides: Study

Many women desperate to be IS fighters' jihadi brides: Study
The Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria may be demonised by the world community for their terrorist activities but there are those who look up to them....

Many women desperate to be IS fighters' jihadi brides: Study

India-US partnership poised for the next level: India envoy nominee

India-US partnership poised for the next level: India envoy nominee
Richard Rahul Verma, the first Indian-American to be nominated as the US Ambassador to India, believes there is renewed enthusiasm on both sides...

India-US partnership poised for the next level: India envoy nominee

Record gun sales in US on Black Friday

Record gun sales in US on Black Friday
Gun sales in the US on Black Friday this year set a new record for that day, during which the FBI carried out 175,000 background checks, a media report said Tuesday....

Record gun sales in US on Black Friday

Children drugged, tortured at Indian ashram in Australia

Children drugged, tortured at Indian ashram in Australia
A public hearing here has revealed shocking details of cases of sex abuse in Australia by an Indian yoga guru, who died around 17 years...

Children drugged, tortured at Indian ashram in Australia

Bin Laden family-owned group to build Africa's highest tower

Bin Laden family-owned group to build Africa's highest tower
 A construction group owned by the family of Osama bin Laden is to build a 514-metre high tower in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco that will be the tallest....

Bin Laden family-owned group to build Africa's highest tower

Sikh Woman elected city council member in US

Sikh Woman elected city council member in US
A Sikh woman in the US was elected a city council member, first woman from the community to hold the post not just in California state, but in the country, media reported....

Sikh Woman elected city council member in US