Army copter crashes: all 26 aboard die
COAS orders inquiry
Staff Reporter
Peshawar—A military transport helicopter went down on the border
between Khyber and Orakzai tribal region on Friday afternoon,
killing all the twenty-six security personnel on board, a government
official said.
The official said the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault.
The military spokesman was not available for comment, but a
government official said the Russian-made M-17 transport helicopter
crashed in a mountainous area, some 20 km from Peshawar, on the
border between Khyber and Orakzai tribal region.
All those on board the helicopter have been killed,’ the official
said. He attributed the cause of the crash to ‘some technical
fault.’
The official described the area where the helicopter crashed as
remote and inaccessible. Paramilitary force had cordoned off the
area and efforts were being made to retrieve the bodies, the
official said.
Army Chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has ordered an inquiry into the
incident but the crash prompted speculation whether the transport
helicopter attracted militant gunfire and was shot down.
So far, no militant group active in the region has claimed
responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.
An official said that the actual cause of the crash would be
determined after detailed examination of the wreckage was made. ‘It
is a lengthy exercise,’ the official said.
