Islamabad, May 8: A Pakistani military helicopter carrying 11 foreigners Friday crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing ambassadors of the Philippines and Norway and at least five others as the Taliban claimed responsibility for downing the chopper and said Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif was the target.
Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish and Dutch ambassador Marcel de Vink were also injured.
The army pilots were identified as Major Altamash and Major Faisal.
Pakistan Army, however, ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity in the crash in PoK’s Gilgit-Baltistan in the north and said the chopper crashed because of 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.
Sharif’s plane was already airborne for Naltar where he was scheduled to inaugurate two projects but was diverted back to Islamabad following the “tragic” news of the crash.
Military spokesman MajorGeneral Asim Saleem 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 by TTP’s main spokesman Muhammad Khorasani. PTI
