FO statement says transportation of mortal remains to be finalised after consultation with families, officials and completion of formalities
High-level delegations from Norway, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines arrived on Sunday to receive the bodies of Naltar victims a day after they were flown to Nur Khan base in Rawalpindi.
According to a statement released by the Foreign Office, the delegation from Philippines headed by the Under Secretary of Philippines Ministry of Foreign Affairs including the spouse and son of the late ambassador reached Islamabad.
The delegation from Malaysia consisting of senior officials and daughter of the Malaysian ambassador also arrived in the federal capital, as well as one from Indonesia.
“A forensic team from Norway also arrived in the capital on the request of the government to assist in DNA sampling,” a Foreign Office statement said.
The team was accompanied by a delegation to receive the late Norwegian ambassador’s body. However, despite earlier reports of the arrival of the widow of the late Norwegian ambassador, she did not come with the delegation.
“Transportation of the mortal remains to the respective countries of the deceased would be finalised after consultation with the families and officials of the embassies concerned and after completion of all formalities,” the FO statement added.
Ambassadors of Indonesia and the Netherlands, who received burn injuries, were moved to Special Burns Unit in Kharian. The Malaysian envoy and the ambassador of Poland and his wife were, meanwhile, being treated at CMH Rawalpindi.
The bodies of Ambassador of Philippines Domingo D Lucenario Jr, Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen and the wives of ambassadors of Malaysia and Indonesian were air-lifted from Naltar to Rawalpindi and have been placed in the morgue of Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
The rest of the group of diplomats, who had gone to Gilgit, have also returned safely to Rawalpindi.
Norwegian Ambassador Leif H Larsen, Philippines Ambassador Domingo D Lucenario Jr, wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors and two pilots – Major Faisal and Major Altamash – as well as a crew member were killed when an Mi-17 helicopter of the Pakistan Army went down shortly before landing in Naltar valley on Friday.
Three other envoys – Poland’s Ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish, Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink and the Indonesian ambassador – were also injured in the incident. According to an official, the Pakistan Army on Saturday airlifted the casualties to Rawalpindi in helicopters and a C-130 aircraft.
On Saturday, the prime minister’s office said in a statement that top government officials would accompany the bodies to their countries, “The ministers will take the bodies on special flights as a gesture of respect and to show the importance Pakistan attaches [to] its relations with these countries,” it added.
