Midair tragedy kills foreign envoys

• Philippines, Norwegian ambassadors, army pilots among seven killed as army helicopter crashes in Gilgit’s Naltar Valley
• Polish, Dutch, Romanian, Lebanese envoys, Malaysia and Indonesia HCs, wife of Polish envoy among injured
• PM announces one-day mourning, deputes ministers to accompany dead bodies of envoys, spouses to respective countries
• ISPR DG says technical fault in helicopter caused crash while TTP claims it took down chopper with an antiaircraft

Seven people, including Ambassador of Philippines Domingo D Lucenario Jr, Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen, the wives of Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors and two army aviation pilots were killed in a helicopter crash in Naltar Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday morning.

Two pilots and a crew member were among those killed when the Pakistan Army helicopter crash-landed on a school in Naltar Valley, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asim Bajwa said. Media reports identified the two pilots as Major Altamash and Major Faisal.

The injured include the Polish, Dutch, Romanian, Lebanese ambassadors and high commissioners of Malaysia and Indonesia. The wife of the Polish ambassador was also injured. Ambassador Larsen had recently arrived in Pakistan to take up the ambassadorial position.

The ISPR DG said that six Pakistanis and 11 foreigners were aboard a MI-17 helicopter.

The convoy comprised three MI-17 helicopters, one carrying foreign diplomats, one carrying the prime minister and his staff, and a third one with senior military officials, Bajwa said.

However, a foreign news agency quoted a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office as saying that premier Sharif was on a plane, not helicopter, en route to the Gilgit area at the time of the incident, but turned back to Islamabad after the news of the crash broke.

According to a top regional administration official, the premier was due to inaugurate a chair-lift project at a ski resort in Naltar Valley.

The crashed helicopter was carrying a delegation of ambassadors to inspect projects on a three-day trip to Gilgit-Baltistan, where the foreign envoys were scheduled to meet the prime minister.

WHAT CAUSED THE CRASH?

While the ISPR DG claimed that the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault and ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity, the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed that the incident was the result of an attack it carried out.

The ISPR DG said that per procedure, a board of enquiry has been constituted to investigate the cause of the crash.

Through a statement mailed to the newsmen, TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani claimed that Pakistan Army’s MI-17 copter was targeted with an anti-aircraft gun, killing the pilots and several foreign ambassadors. He added that TTP’s Special Task Force (STF) and TIA took part in this operation.

“We are determined to take the war against infidels and democracy to its logical conclusion. Democracy is against Islam,” Khurasani said, adding that Nawaz Sharif and his aides are on their target.

“Very soon we will show the world, recently acquired (manufactured) Shoulder Lounge Missile SAM-7 and imparting of its training to fighters,” he said.

However, TTP’s claim could not be independently verified.

In the meanwhile, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesman Group Captain SM Ali has ruled out the possibility of any terrorist act behind the crash of M-17 helicopter near Gilgit.

“No, there was no such (terrorist) act. I am witness to the accident, as I had also landed there a while before this unfortunate helicopter crashed — I was watching it land,” he told a local news outfit.

Moreover, Ali said that due to stormy weather, the C-130 operation, which was supposed to bring dead bodies, has been deferred till today. “PAF is in touch with army and Foreign Office for making arrangements,” he added.

According to a list of passengers, the ambassadors of Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, Romania, Norway, South Africa, Philippines and Poland were scheduled to fly on the helicopter.

A passenger in one of the helicopters told a foreign news agency that the air convoy was supposed to have included four helicopters but the number was later reduced to three.

“It was a diplomatic trip with members of 37 countries in total,” said the passenger, adding that the school had caught fire after the crash but no children were in class at the time.

“The school, built by Pakistan Air Force for the children of the area, was closed as part of a security plan for the prime minister’s visit,” he said.

A DAY OF MOURNING:

Following the incident, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif extended heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of the two ambassadors and the spouses of two other envoys who died in the incident and declared one-day mourning in relation to the incident.

He also expressed concern over the conditions of the injured diplomats and prayed for their speedy recovery. He directed concerned authorities to provide the injured diplomats with the best medical treatment.

The premier also directed authorities to dispatch planes and helicopters to evacuate the injured diplomats and transport the bodies to Islamabad.

In this connection, PM Sharif has deputed three Cabinet ministers, Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Ahsan Iqbal, Khurram Dastagir Khan, to accompany dead bodies of envoys and spouses to Norway, Malaysia and Indonesia and Philippines respectively.

The ministers would take the dead bodies on special flights as a gesture of respect and to “show the importance Pakistan attaches with its relations to these countries, conveying heartfelt condolences from the government and people of Pakistan”.