About nine people have lost their lives after a helicopter was shot down, crashing into a school in Pakistan.
A local Taliban group has claimed responsibility for taking down the helicopter flying seven people, the wives of two ambassadors and two other ambassadors on Friday, May 8, 2015.
The chopper had crashed into a school in the country’s mountainous north.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an affiliate of the Taliban claimed to have shot down the aircraft, saying it was no accident as they also hoped to assassinate the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif.
The Pakistani Army Mi-17, Russian-made helicopter was said to be carrying a group of diplomats to the Gigit-Balitistan region as part of campaign to promote tourism when the chopper collided with the building that was reportedly empty at the time.
Two ambassadors namely, Leif H Larsen, the Norwegian envoy and Domingo D Lucenario Jr of the Phillipines were killed, as were the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors,
Also killed were as the helicopter’s two pilots and a crew member.
Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananiczolish and Dutch envoy Marcel de Vink were reorted to have sustained fatal injuries too.
The chopper convoy was carrying diplomats and their families on a three-day tour to familiarize them with the region in conjunction with the launch of a tourism project. Located in Pakistan’s Gilgit region, Naltar is known for its scenic mountains and lakes.
This is Pakistani’s worst air crash since 2012 wgen a Boeing 737 passenger plane went down in islamabad, killing 130 people.
