Shah Shatranj
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Pakistan helicopter crash kills foreign envoys
Many of the injured were brought to a military hospital in Gilgit for treatment
An army helicopter has crashed in a mountainous part of northern Pakistan killing six people including the Philippine and Norwegian ambassadors.
It crashed during an emergency landing in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory.
The wives of the Indonesian and Malaysian envoys and two Pakistani pilots also died. They were to attend the opening of a tourism project.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) said they were behind the attack, but there is no confirmation of the claim.
"The helicopter was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile," a statement emailed by Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said.
However military spokesman Asim Bajwa told Dawn newspaper that the crash had been caused by a technical fault. The area is not a stronghold of the Taliban.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to attend the inauguration, but his aircraft turned back from Gilgit after reports of the crash.
'Urgent' situation
Mr Bajwa said in a post on Twitter 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.
The helicopter reportedly hit a building belonging to an army school in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is not yet known whether there are any casualties on the ground.
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.
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.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32653359

Many of the injured were brought to a military hospital in Gilgit for treatment
An army helicopter has crashed in a mountainous part of northern Pakistan killing six people including the Philippine and Norwegian ambassadors.
It crashed during an emergency landing in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory.
The wives of the Indonesian and Malaysian envoys and two Pakistani pilots also died. They were to attend the opening of a tourism project.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) said they were behind the attack, but there is no confirmation of the claim.
"The helicopter was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile," a statement emailed by Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said.
However military spokesman Asim Bajwa told Dawn newspaper that the crash had been caused by a technical fault. The area is not a stronghold of the Taliban.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to attend the inauguration, but his aircraft turned back from Gilgit after reports of the crash.
'Urgent' situation
Mr Bajwa said in a post on Twitter 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.
The helicopter reportedly hit a building belonging to an army school in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is not yet known whether there are any casualties on the ground.
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.
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.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32653359
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