The bodies of those killed in Friday's helicopter crash in Gilgit-Baltistan's Naltar Valley were brought to Rawalpindi's Nur Khan Airbase on Saturday.Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and senior civilian, military and air force officials were present at the airbase when the bodies were flown in from Naltar.
Twelve people injured in the crash also arrived at the military base outside of Islamabad in a C-130 plane.Army personnel formed a guard of honour to receive the coffins, draped in national flags and bedecked with wreaths, as soldiers carried them from the aircraft that brought them from the north.
The commanders saluted as the coffins were carried by.The casualties were then shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rawalpindi.Preparations have also been made to send the bodies of Ambassador of Philippines Domingo D Lucenario Jr, Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, who were among those killed in yesterday's crash, to their home countries.
Federal ministers Abdul Qadir Baloch, Ahsan Iqbal and Khurram Dastagir will accompany the dead bodies on special flights. Mr Baloch would go to Norway, Mr Ahsan Iqbal to Indonesia and Malaysia and Mr Dastagir to Phillipines.“This is a moment of grief. All the bodies have arrived. We are in touch with the embassies” of the dead foreigners, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry told Pakistan Television.
Family members of the slain envoys and their wives were also present at the airbase.The bodies were flown to the airbase a day after the Mi-17 chopper crashed, reportedly due to a technical fault during landing.
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