Bodies of Gilgit crash victims arrive in Islamabad

Seven people including two foreign ambassadors were killed when a Pakistan Army helicopter attempted a crash landing in Naltar valley near Gilgit on Friday.

The corpses of Norwegian ambassador Leif H. Larsen, Philippines ambassador Domingo D. Lucenario Jr, wives of Indonesian and Malaysian ambassadors Heri Listyawati Burhan Muhammad and Datin Habibah Mahmud were brought to the airbase in Rawalpindi.

The bodies of the two pilots Shaheed Major Altamash and Shaheed Major Faisal and technician Zakir were also brought to Rawalpindi.

Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rashad Mehmood, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman and Navy Chief Admiral Zakaullah were there to receive the bodies.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and foreign ambassadors were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, the last rites of the two pilots were offered in Gilgit in which top military commanders and civilian leaders were present.

It should be noted that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced a day of mourning on Saturday (today), and has instructed his ministers to accompany the bodies to their respective countries. The flags are flying at half mast.

Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lieutenant General (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch will accompany the body of Norwegian ambassador, Federal Minister for Trade and Commerce Khurram Dastagir Khan will go with the remains of Philippines ambassador while Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal will accompany the bodies of the wives of Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors.

Bodies of Gilgit crash victims airlifted to… by arynews