An Mi-17 army helicopter crashed Friday during an emergency landing in the Gilgit-Baltisan territory, Northern Pakistan, killing seven people. Among the casualties of the tragic incident are ambassadors from the Philippine Islands and Norway.
Military spokesman Asim Bajwa stated on Twitter that Norwegian Ambassador Leif Larsen and Philippine Ambassador Domingo Lucenario, as well as the wives of the ambassadors of Malaysia and Indonesia, were killed in the crash, along with the helicopter's pilots and a crew member.
He added that initial investigations point to technical faults as the primary cause of the crash, according to Reuters. The foreign secretary agrees with this assumption.
Foreign Secretary Azaz Chaudhry is convinced that it was technical problems that brought the military helicopter down.
"Apparently its engine failed. It was not terrorism," he said.
The Pakistani Taliban however, are claiming that they were behind the crash. In a statement after the incident, the militant group said that it had shot down the helicopter with an anti-aircraft missile, according to BBC News. The group was intending to kill the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.
Witnesses on the ground, however, state that the helicopter was not attacked. The other two helicopters it was travelling with were also present when the crash happened.
Bajwa said that among the injured were the ambassadors of Poland and the Netherlands. The ambassadors of South Africa, Lebanon, and Romania were also on the flight. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying that its ambassador was alive and uninjured, Reuters reported.
The Foreign Office of Pakistan stated that there were a total of 17 passengers in the helicopter when it crashed into a school and caught fire. Media reports said that there were 11 foreigners and six Pakistanis on board, according to Reuters.
The helicopter crashed into a school building, but fortunately there were no children inside during that time. Classes were cancelled that day due to security reasons.
The diplomats flying in the ill-fated flight were headed for a ski chairlift inauguration that was built on the picturesque resort of Naltar, in Northern Pakistan, BBC News reported.
The Russian-built Mi-17 is widely considered to be a very reliable, stable, all-business helicopter. The Pakistani military has about 29 Mi-17s in service, while the air force has six. During the last 11 years, only four other Mi-17 crashes have happened in Pakistan.
