Friday, May 8, 2015

A PAKISTANI ARMY HELICOPTER HAS CRASHED INTO SCHOOL IN A MOUNTAINOUS PART OF NORTHERN PAKISTAN KILLING 8 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE PHILIPPINE AND NORWEGIAN AMBASSADORS. 5 OTHERS WERE INJURED.




The Russian-built Mi-17, used by air forces across the world, has had a patchy safety record in recent years.  The fuel tanks are very easy to explode.







MAY 8, 2015

GILGIT, PAKISTAN

It crashed during an emergency landing in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory.
The wives of the Indonesian and Malaysian envoys, two pilots and a crew member also died. They were to attend the opening of a tourism project.
The Pakistani Taliban said they were behind the attack, but the government dismissed any suggestion of foul play.

Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, said initial reports suggest it was an accident.

Analysis: M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad
This is one of the most tragic aviation disasters for the Pakistani military in decades. The last time one of its air crashes killed a foreign diplomat was in 1988 when a C-130, carrying then military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq, US Ambassador Arnold Raphel and several of the army top brass, crashed in southern Pakistan, killing all on board.

The diplomats flying in the ill-fated MI-17 on Friday were headed for a little advertised but extremely exciting inauguration ceremony of a ski chairlift, built in the breathtaking resort of Naltar, in northern Pakistan.

The 180-seat lift was donated by Switzerland and installed by the Pakistan Air Force. Its test run was completed in August, but its formal opening was delayed several times due to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's preoccupations elsewhere.
Today Mr Sharif flew to within 40km of Naltar valley, but just then the news of the crash came and he had to turn back without touching down at the regional airport in Gilgit.

The area is not a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). The militant group earlier issued a statement saying they had shot down the helicopter with an anti-aircraft missile, intending to kill the prime minister. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to attend the inauguration of the ski lift, but his aircraft turned back from Gilgit after reports of the crash.
Military spokesman Asim Bajwa said in a Twitter post that Norwegian envoy Leif Larsen and Domingo Lucenario of the Philippines had been killed.

He said five others were injured, including the Polish and Dutch ambassadors.
Eleven foreigners and six Pakistanis were on board the MI-17 helicopter when it came down in the Naltar valley, he added. 

'In flames'

The helicopter hit a building belonging to an army school in Gilgit-Baltistan. The building caught fire but no children were in class at the time, a senior official told the AFP news agency. 

Local resident Sher Ahmed told the news agency that there had been a heavy security presence in the area ahead of the visit. 

"I was in my garden with my family watching the helicopters arriving when we heard a loud explosion and then the school building was in flames." 

Meanwhile, an unnamed senior official told Pakistan's Express News that strong winds were blowing when he saw the helicopter crash go down.

Norway's ambassador to Pakistan Leif Larsen died in the crash The ambassadors of Poland and the Netherlands were also injured They and several others were brought to a military hospital in Gilgit for treatment.

It was one of three helicopters ferrying a delegation of foreign diplomats for the inauguration of a chairlift project built by the air force for tourists in the area.
The chairlift project was reportedly completed more than six months ago, but its inauguration was delayed due to Prime Minister Sharif's other commitments.
It is the second chairlift to be built in a Pakistani ski resort. The first chairlift, which is at Pakistan's oldest ski resort of Malam Jabba in the Swat valley, was destroyed by the Taliban.

Gilgit-Baltistan is famous for its natural beauty and the main city of Gilgit is seen as a gateway to the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges.
It is also a strategically important autonomous region bordering China, Afghanistan and Indian-held Kashmir. 

There have been a number of crashes involving the same model of military helicopter in Pakistan in recent years.

MI-17 helicopter crashes in Pakistan

2015: 8 killed during an emergency landing in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory, including ambassadors and ambassadors’ wives
2012: Five killed in helicopter crash near Skardu airport in Gilgit-Baltistan region
2009: 41 killed in crash in northern Chapri Ferozkhel area
2007: Four killed in crash near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir
2004: 13 killed when helicopter travelling from Rawalpindi to the North Waziristan tribal area crashes

It was one of the worst air crash in the history of the country since 2012 when a Boeing 737 passenger plane went down in Islamabad, killing 130 people.

In 1988, a plane crash killed then military-ruler General Ziaul Haq as well as the US ambassador at the time, Arnold Raphel.

A local police official on duty near the site told AFP: “I was watching the helicopters arriving, they were coming since the morning, it was their third or fourth trip.

“One helicopter suddenly whirling at its place and went down with a bang, then there were flames.”

An emergency medic who was deployed nearby ahead of the inauguration ceremony said the helicopter only exploded and caught fire after landing.

“The pilot was gesturing at us to come and help him. We rushed there, broke the windows, and started dragging people out.

“After some minutes, there was an explosion, injuring some of the medics too.”
Two other eye-witnesses interviewed by AFP also said they did not see the chopper being hit by a missile.

Source: Pakistan's Dawn News



Date:
08-MAY-2015
Time:

Type:
Owner/operator:
Pakistan Army
Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities:
Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 17
Airplane damage:
Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:
Naltar Valley, Gilgit - http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/flags_15/AP.gif  Pakistan
Phase:
Landing
Nature:
Military
Departure airport:
OPGT
Destination airport:
PAF Base Naltar
Narrative:
Seven people including two pilots died in crash landing of the helicopter while carrying diplomats to the opening of a chairlift.

The Ambassadors of Norway and Philippines died in the crash. Wives of the ambassadors of Indonesia and Malaysia also died.

Ambassadors of the Netherlands and Poland injured.
Sources: