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

China ready to hold fresh border talks with India

China ready to hold fresh border talks with India
China welcomes India's newly-appointed special representative on border talks, Ajit Doval, and expects a new round of parleys soon, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday....

China ready to hold fresh border talks with India

IS, militant groups received $120 mn in ransoms: UN

IS, militant groups received $120 mn in ransoms: UN
The Sunni radical group Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups operating in Syria and Iraq have received as much as $120 million in ransoms since 2004, a UN expert said....

IS, militant groups received $120 mn in ransoms: UN

33 IS militants killed in Iraq's Mosul, two towns retaken

33 IS militants killed in Iraq's Mosul, two towns retaken
At least 33 militants of the Islamic State (IS) died Monday in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the surrounding area, including a leader who was responsible for the sale...

33 IS militants killed in Iraq's Mosul, two towns retaken

Stand up for your rights, Imran Khan tells Pakistanis

Stand up for your rights, Imran Khan tells Pakistanis
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said Sunday that the people of Pakistan must stand up for their rights, when the party holds a rally Nov 30 in Islamabad....

Stand up for your rights, Imran Khan tells Pakistanis

Train with MH17 wreckage arrives in Ukraine's Kharkiv

Train with MH17 wreckage arrives in Ukraine's Kharkiv
A train carrying the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane that crashed in eastern Ukraine in July arrived Monday in the city of Kharkiv...

Train with MH17 wreckage arrives in Ukraine's Kharkiv

Obama defends his immigration reform plan

Obama defends his immigration reform plan
US President Barack Obama has defended his immigration reform plans, which could protect five million undocumented immigrants from deportation....

Obama defends his immigration reform plan