A Pakistani military helicopter
carrying foreign diplomats in the mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan has
crashed, killing six people, the military says.
Two ambassadors and two wives of
ambassadors were among those killed in Friday's crash.
The dead include Norwegian
Ambassador Leif Larsen, Philippines Ambassador Domingo Lucenario Jr, and the
wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors to Pakistan.
Dutch ambassador Marcel de Vink
and Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananicz were injured in the crash.
The MI-17 helicopter was carrying
17 people, including 11 foreigners, the military’s spokesperson Major-General
Asim Bajwa said in an earlier statement.
The 13 survivors had
"varying degrees of injuries".
The aircraft crashed in the
Naltar Valley area of Gilgit-Baltistan, about 300km north of the capital
Islamabad. Gilgit-Baltistan is located in Pakistan's extreme north, and is
located at the junction of three major mountain ranges: the Himalayas, the Karakorum
and the Hindu Kush. It is home to more than 100 peaks higher than 7,000 metres.
A witness satetd that it appeared that aircraft had suffered a technical issue.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was due to visit Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday, which the diplomats were visiting as part of a four-day tour.
Sharif was en route to Gilgit when the crash occurred, and has now cancelled his visit, state media reported.
He expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the crash. The helicopter that crashed was part of a group of three, all of which were carrying foreign diplomats on their tour of the area.
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