RAWALPINDI: An MI-17 helicopter of the Pakistan Army crashed near Hodur, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), citing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today.

According to ISPR, five personnel, including the pilots and crew members, embraced martyrdom in the helicopter crash incident.

The martyrs include Pilot Major Atif, Co-Pilot Major Faisal, Naib Subedar Maqbool, Havaldar Jahangir, and Naik Aamir, ISPR said. On August 15, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government confirmed that a government MI-17 helicopter crashed while transporting relief supplies to Salarzai in Bajaur.

According to official sources, contact with the helicopter was lost due to bad weather while it was flying over Mohmand’s airspace. The crash resulted in the martyrdom of all 5 crew members.

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur stated that all possible efforts were made to re-establish contact with the helicopter before the crash was confirmed. Rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the site on his directives.