May 09 , 2015
News
Top civil-military brass receives bodies of Gilgit crash victims
INPISLAMABAD - Top civil and military leadership was present on Saturday at the Nur Khan Air Base to receive the bodies of the seven MI-17 helicopter crash victims.
The bodies were received at the airbase with full military honor. A guard of honor was presented to them. A C-130 aircraft carrying injured people of Naltar tragedy also landed at Nur Khan Air Base.
On May 8, an army chopper crashed onto a school just before landing in the scenic Naltar Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), killing ambassadors of Norway and thePhilippines among others.
Norwegian envoy Leif H Larsen, Philippines Ambassador Domingo D Lucenario Jr, wives of Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors and two pilots were killed in the incident, while Polish Ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish and Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink sustained injuries.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Rashad Mahmood, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, GB’s commander FCNA Maj General Asim Munir, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatimi, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, Inspector General of Police Zafar Iqbal and Home Secretary Sibtain Ahmed were also present.
Talking to newsmen on the occasion, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said the government was close contact with the relevant embassies in order to shift the bodies of foreign diplomats to their home countries, adding that the bodies of diplomats would be sent to their countries through special flights. “Each special flight will be accompanied by a federal minister,” he said.
According to an official, at least 400 people were in attendance at the Nur Khan Air Base. Amid tight security, the injured were brought from Gligit to the air base by C-130, while bodies were transported by army helicopters.
The army officials formed a guard of honour to receive the coffins, draped in national flags and bedecked with wreaths, as soldiers carried them from the helicopters that brought them from the north. Army Chief General Raheel Sharif put his arm around a sobbing boy among the diplomats. The national flag flew at half-mast as the nation observed a day of mourning following prime minister’s announcement on May 8.
Prime Minister Sharif called his Malaysian counterpart today and extended condolences over the death of Malaysian ambassador’s wife in the helicopter crash. Earlier, he had directed three cabinet ministers to accompany bodies of the envoys and spouses to their respective countries.
Abdul Qadir Baloch will be departing for Norway, Ahsan Iqbal to Malaysia and Indonesia while Khurram Dastgir Khan will be going to the Philippines. The bodies would be taken on special flights as a gesture of respect and to show the importance Pakistan attaches to its relations with these countries.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also expressed his sorrow over the crash. In a statement, he extended his condolences to the families of the crash victims and the government of Pakistan, the Philippines, Norway, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk