Military helicopter crash in Pakistani Kashmir killed 22, security sources say

At least 22 personnel were killed in Wednesday’s military helicopter crash in Pakistani Kashmir, security sources said on Thursday, as funeral processions were held in the territory’s capital Muzaffarabad.

Videos from the crash scene showed plumes of thick, black smoke rising from behind the buildings where the helicopter went down.

The source said those killed included 19 soldiers, one army major and two colonels.

The soldiers received a ceremonial funeral with their coffins draped in Pakistani flags and carried by members of the artillery unit stationed in Kashmir.

Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday that the Mi-17 helicopter crashed due to a technical fault and all those on board were killed.

An inquiry has been ordered into the exact technical cause of the accident, it added.

The crash took place at a time when strict security restrictions have been imposed on Kashmir following clashes between supporters of a recently banned alliance of civil society groups and security forces that killed at least 11 people on Sunday.

(Reporting by Saad Sayeed, Writing by Hritam Mukherjee and Saad Sayeed; Editing by YP Rajesh, Alexandra Hudson)