A Pakistan Army helicopter carrying six individuals, including two top commanders, is feared to have crashed while on a flood relief operation in the restive Balochistan province on Monday after losing contact with air traffic control.
The helicopter, which took off from an area called Uthal, was headed for the Pakistan Air Force base in Masroor in Karachi before it disappeared and lost contact with ATC.
Major General Babar Iftikhar, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations - the media wing of Pakistan's armed forces, said the helicopter was on a flood relief operation.
"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," Iftikhar tweeted.
A police source said that the helicopter apparently crashed near a place called Sassi Pannu in a mountainous region off Lasbela. Police teams which have reached there found no survivors.
The local area police received a call from some residents of the area that they had seen a helicopter crash, the source said.
According to another source, the search and rescue operation team will require at least three hours to reach the crash site, but police teams have arrived there.
The passengers included two top commanders, Director General of the Pakistan Coast Guards Major General Amjad and Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ahmad, Commander 12 Corps.
Lt General Sarfaraz was seen as the next potential Chief of the Army Staff after the retirement of Lt General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the current army chief.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You’ve hit your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Quarterly Starter
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online
Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app