Military helicopter crash kills officer, injures two others in Tarbela

MI-17 was on a routine night training mission when it crashed near Tarbela Dam, says DSP Ghazi Tehsil Hakim Khan

HARIPUR: An Army Aviation's helicopter crashed near Tarbela Dam Monday evening, killing a senior military officer and injuring two others.

“An MI-17 helicopter of Army Aviation was on a routine training operation when it crashed within the Army Aviation base Ghazi, some 55km from Tehsil Ghazi, after developing some technical fault at sunset killing Lt-Col Tauqir on the spot,” DSP Ghazi Tehsil Hakim Khan told The Express Tribune.

The two others who were also onboard at the time of crash sustained injuries. They were identified as Major Usman and Hawaldar Basharat.



The DSP added that the injured and body have been transported to CMH Ghazi.

Meanwhile, the army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has confirmed the death of Lt-Col Tauqir but has not mentioned of injured officers in the crash.

The accident follows a string of crashes in recent the months.

Two Pakistan army pilots were killed earlier in February when their Mushak plane crashed during a training flight.

Last August, 12 people were killed when a helicopter belonging to the army crashed in the northwest parts of the country.

An Mi-17 army helicopter crashed at a holiday resort in the picturesque hills of Gilgit killing seven people, including two foreign ambassadors, in May last year.