PESHAWAR: A military transport helicopter went down on the border between Khyber and Orakzai tribal region on Friday afternoon, killing all the twenty-six security personnel on board, a government official said.
The official said the helicopter crashed due to a technical fault.
The military spokesman was not available for comment, but a government official said the Russian-made M-17 transport helicopter crashed in a mountainous area, some 20 km from Peshawar, on the border between Khyber and Orakzai tribal region.
‘All those on board the helicopter have been killed,’ the official said. He attributed the cause of the crash to ‘some technical fault.’
The official described the area where the helicopter crashed as remote and inaccessible. Paramilitary force had cordoned off the area and efforts were being made to retrieve the bodies, the official said.
Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has ordered an inquiry into the incident but the crash prompted speculation whether the transport helicopter attracted militant gunfire and was shot down.
So far, no militant group active in the region has claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.
An official said that the actual cause of the crash would be determined after detailed examination of the wreckage was made. ‘It is a lengthy exercise,’ the official said.
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