After losing communication with air traffic control on Monday while conducting a flood relief mission in the unruly Balochistan region, a Pakistan Army helicopter carrying six people—including two top commanders crashed near Lasbela.
Before it vanished and lost touch with ATC, the helicopter, which took off from a location named Uthal, was flying toward the Pakistan Air Force base in Masroor near Karachi.
The helicopter was on a flood relief mission, according to Major General Babar Iftikhar, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, and the communications arm of Pakistan’s armed forces.
“A Pakistan army aviation helicopter which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan lost contact with ATC. 6 individuals were on board including Commander 12 Corps who was supervising flood relief operations in Balochistan. The search operation is underway,” DG ISPR tweeted.
According to a police source, the helicopter appeared to have crashed close to Sassi Pannu in a mountainous area off Lasbela. There were no survivors when police squads arrived.
Residents of the neighborhood called the local police to report seeing a helicopter crash, the person claimed.
Police teams have arrived at the crash site, while another source said that it will take the search and rescue mission team at least three hours to get there.
Major General Amjad, Director General of the Pakistan Coast Guard, and Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ahmad, Commander of the 12 Corps, were among the passengers.
After Lt. General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the current army leader retires, Lt. General Sarfaraz was viewed as a potential successor.
To read our blog on “Six Pakistani Army Officers embrace martyrdom in Congo helicopter crash,” click here.