A Pakistani military helicopter carrying 11 foreigners crashed in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Friday, killing ambassadors of the Philippines and Norway and at least five others.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the downing of the chopper and said Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif was the target. 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 due to 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.
Published 08 May 2015, 20:43 IST