The military chopper carrying 17 passengers, including several diplomats, crashed on Friday. The reason for the crash is yet unknown.
On Friday, a helicopter carrying ambassadors and diplomats crashed in Northern Pakistan. The military helicopter was carrying 17 passengers when it went down and killed seven passengers; among the victims were ambassadors from Norway and the Philippines. It is unknown whether or not people on the ground were injured or killed at the crash site.
The Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry announced on Friday that the crash was most likely due to an engine problem. He assured that the crash was unrelated to terrorist activity. Earlier, the Pakistani Taliban stated that the crash was its doing. They claimed the helicopter went down after it was hit with a surface to air rocket fired by one of the militants.
The aircraft crashed into the back of the Army Public School in Naltar, Pakistan. Ambassador Leif H. Larson of Norway and Domingo D. Lucenario Jr. of the Philippines were killed in the crash. The wives of the Indonesian and Malaysian Ambassadors were also killed; the two pilots and a crewmember were also lost in the crash. Ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish of Poland and Ambassador Marcel de Vink of the Netherlands were injured.
Friday’s crash is currently being investigated, but the Pakistani government as well as the governments of the ambassadors expressed their sorrow over the crash. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared a day of mourning in honor of the victims.
“The government and people of Pakistan are deeply saddened over the tragic death of foreigners in the unfortunate incident and equally share the grief of the affected families,” said Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain.
Two other helicopters carrying ambassadors and diplomats were on the same flight route as the helicopter that crashed. According to Pakistani officials, the sky was clear with favorable weather conditions for flight. Investigation is being conducted into the possible mechanical failure of the engine. The helicopter, an Mi-17 transport chopper, was built in 2002 and had received regular inspection, say officials.
