The identities of the five crew members, including two pilots, who were martyred in yesterday’s government helicopter crash in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have been released.
According to sources, Colonel (Retd) Shahid Sultan, who was among the martyrs, belonged to Abbottabad.
After retiring from the Pakistan Army, he continued to serve as a highly experienced pilot and had flown several VIP flights, including those of the then Chief of Army Staff.
Another martyred pilot, Wing Commander (Retd) Aftab, was a resident of Lahore and had retired from the Pakistan Air Force. Flight Engineer Saleem, who also embraced martyrdom in the crash, hailed from Talagang and was likewise a retired officer of the Air Force.
The martyred Crew Chief Mukhtar belonged to Swabi and had previously retired from the Pakistan Army, while Crew Chief Muhammad Jabbar, also retired from the Army, was a resident of Talagang.
Sources further revealed that the MI-17 helicopter involved in the accident had conducted dozens of relief flights in Kurram during the past five months.
The aircraft had been overhauled in Russia in 2020 and had earlier been used by the governments of Punjab and Balochistan as well.
It may be recalled that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s MI-17 helicopter, carrying relief supplies to Bajaur, crashed yesterday due to adverse weather conditions, resulting in the martyrdom of five personnel, including two pilots.
