ISLAMABAD: The wreckage of the army helicopter that went missing yesterdady (Monday) during relief operations has been found, with no survivors, the military’s media wing confirmed on Tuesday.
It said that the wreckage was found in the Windar area of Lasbela district in Balochistan.
“All six officers and soldiers including Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali embraced shahadat,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a tweet.
It said that initial investigation suggests that the accident occurred due to bad weather.
Lt General Sarfraz Ali of the Quetta Corps, Pakistan Coast Guard Director General Brigadier Amjad Hanif Satti, Brigadier Muhammad Khalid, Major Saeed Ahmed (pilot), Major M. Talha Manan (co-pilot) and Naik Mudassir Fayyaz (helicopter crew) embraced martyrdom in the accident.
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The confirmation comes after a night of frenzied search for the missing chopper that lost content with air traffic control on Monday evening.
The ISPR, in its tweet on Monday, had said that the army aviation helicopter with six people on board, that was on flood relief operations in Balochistan, had gone missing.
“A Pakistan army aviation helicopter which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan, lost contact with ATC,” the Director General Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) tweeted.
The tweet said that six individuals were on board including Commander 12 Corps who was supervising flood relief operations in Balochistan. “A search operation is underway,” it added.
The Pakistan Army and the civil authorities have been conducting relief and rescue operations in the rain and flood-hit areas of the province.
Following the incident Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed concern over the disappearance of the helicopter, saying that the disappearance of the army aviation helicopter from Balochistan was alarming. “The entire nation prays to Allah Almighty for the safety, security, and return of these sons of the country who came out to help the flood victims,” the premier said in a tweet.