ISLAMABAD (AP) — All military personnel aboard a Pakistani army MI-17 helicopter died Wednesday when the aircraft went down due to mechanical failure in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, according to military officials. The number of people on the helicopter was not immediately revealed by military authorities.
The aircraft went down close to Muzaffarabad, the area’s main city, while a demonstration and work stoppage organized by the Joint Awami Action Committee, a recently prohibited coalition of different organizations, was taking place.
Military officials made no connection between the demonstration and the aircraft accident.
People who saw the incident reported the helicopter went down moments after departing from a landing area. Emergency vehicles responded to the location and took the casualties to a local medical facility.
“Rescue and recovery teams immediately reached the crash site,” the military said, adding that a board of inquiry had been ordered to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the crash, paying tribute to the military personnel killed. In separate statements, they conveyed sympathies to the families of the victims.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and extended condolences to the families of those killed, according to the statement.
These types of accidents occur regularly in Pakistan. In September 2025, an army helicopter on a routine flight crashed in northern Pakistan, killing two pilots and three technicians on board.
