Six Pakistan Army personnel were martyred on Sunday night after their helicopter crashed in Balochistan near Harnai district’s Khost city, according to a statement issued by the military’s media wing.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the crash occurred while the helicopter was on a flying mission, adding that all personnel onboard, including two pilots, had been martyred. Identifying the deceased, it said Major Khurram Shahzad, 39, had been a resident of Attock and is survived by a wife and daughter; Major Muneeb Afzal, 30, had been a resident of Rawalpindi and is survived by a wife and two sons; Subedar Abdul Waheed, 44, a resident of Karak, is survived by a wife and four children; Sepoy Shoaib, 35, a resident of Attock, is survived by a wife and child; Sepoy Muhammad Imran, 27, resident of Khanewal, is survived by a wife and three children; and Naik Jalil, 30, resident of Gujarat, is survived by a wife and two children.
This is the second Pakistan Army helicopter to crash in Balochistan in the past two months. In August, the debris of a helicopter had been found in Lasbela after it crashed during flood relief operations. Six personnel had also been martyred in that crash. According to the results of a preliminary investigation, the crash had occurred due to “bad weather.”