The envoys of Philippines and Norway and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors were among seven persons killed when a Pakistani military helicopter on Friday crashed in the PoK as the Taliban claimed responsibility for the downing of the chopper and said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was their target.
Pakistan Army, however, ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity in the crash in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan in the north and said the chopper crashed due to a technical fault while landing.
Leif H Larsen, the Norwegian envoy, and Domingo D Lucenario Jr. of the Philippines were killed along with the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, besides two army pilots and a Pakistani crew member in the helicopter that caught fire as it crashed into a school.
Six Pakistanis and 11 foreigners were on board the Mi-17 helicopter that was making an emergency landing when it crashed in Naltar valley, setting the school building ablaze, according to initial reports.
“Update Naltar:7 Fatalities.Foreigners-4(Ambs Norway,Philipine,wife of Amb Indonesia,Malaysia).Pakistani-3; two pilots,one crew member-6,” military spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa tweeted.
Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish and Dutch ambassador Marcel de Vink were also injured. The army pilots were identified as Major Altamash and Major Faisal.
Sharif’s plane was already airborne for Naltar where he was scheduled to inaugurate two projects but it was diverted back to Islamabad following the “tragic” news of the crash.
Bajwa said that three Mi-17 military helicopters were carrying diplomats from 37 countries to Naltar where Sharif was to address a ceremony.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the responsibility for the downing of the helicopter and said Sharif was their target.
“The helicopter was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, killing pilots and many foreign ambassadors,” according to a statement in Urdu emailed by the TTP’s main spokesman Muhammad Khorasani.