Pakistan Army’s aviation wing suffered a major setback on Wednesday after a Mi-17 helicopter crashed near Muzaffarabad during take-off, killing all personnel on board. The military said the helicopter went down due to a suspected technical fault, with rescue and recovery teams rushed to the site soon after the accident.
“All personnel on board embraced martyrdom. There were no survivors,” the ISPR said in a statement, according to a Dawn report.
The ISPR statement further read that it has ordered a board of inquiry to ascertain the exact technical cause of the accident, said the report.
Chief of the Army Staff Asim Munir and all ranks of the army “express deep grief over the tragic loss of precious lives and extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families”, the ISPR statement said.
The cause of the crash and the exact number of fatalities remain unclear so far.
Pakistan has witnessed several military helicopter crashes in recent years. In September 2025, an army helicopter on a routine flight crashed in the country’s north, killing two pilots and three technicians on board, the AP reported.
More to come…
