Army helicopter crashes in northern Pakistan, killing 5 on board

An army helicopter on a routine flight has crashed in northern Pakistan, killing two pilots and three technicians on board, a government spokesman said.

The helicopter apparently went down in the Gilgit-Baltistan region due to a technical fault and then caught fire, Faizullah Faraq, the regional government spokesman, said. He provided no further details and said authorities are investigating.

He said the helicopter was being used by the Gilgit-Baltistan government for relief and rescue missions following the recent rains and floods in the region.

The helicopter was conducting a test landing on a newly proposed helipad.

Rescue teams had reached the site of the crash and started their operations.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash, though the Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson cited a “technical failure.”

Last month, a helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit northwestern Bajaur region crashed in bad weather, killing all five people on board. And in September 2024, six people were killed when another helicopter went down in the northwest due to engine failure.

___

Source: TRT