Pakistan Army Aviation’s Mi-17 helicopter crashed today near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing all personnel on board. As per the official statement, the mishap occurred due to a technical glitch.
"There were no survivors,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan military, said, without giving the number of those killed.
In a brief statement, it said that the accident occurred "during take-off due to a technical fault".
Rescue and recovery teams immediately reached the crash site. A board of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact technical cause of the accident.
Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and all ranks of the army “express deep grief over the tragic loss of precious lives and extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families”, the ISPR said.
Last year in September, five personnel were killed after an army helicopter crashed in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district after a “technical fault”.