Ambassadors killed in Pakistan helicopter crash

The Philippine and Norwegian diplomats were killed alongside the wives of Malaysian and Indonesian dignitaries, as well as two pilots and a crew member.

A man watches smoke rising from an empty burning building, where a Pakistani army helicopter crashed in the country's Nalter Valley on May 8, 2015. AP Photo

ISLAMABAD // The ambassadors to Pakistan from the Philippines and Norway were killed on Friday, along with the wives of the ambassadors from Malaysia and Indonesia, when a Pakistani army helicopter carrying foreign dignitaries made a crash landing in the country’s north.

The army’s spokesman, Major General Asim Bajwa, tweeted that the MI-17 helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing. The helicopter’s two pilots and a crew member were also killed, he said, adding that the surviving passengers, including the Dutch and Polish ambassadors, received “varying degree of injuries.”

The helicopter was on route to the northern village of Naltar where prime minister Nawaz Sharif was due to attend a public ceremony to inaugurate the newly installed chairlift at a ski resort. Mr Sharif was in his own plane on route to Naltar when the “tragic news” was conveyed to him, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. It said Mr Sharif returned to Islamabad in the wake of the crash.

The Pakistani foreign ministry said the heads of diplomatic missions from more than 30 countries, along with their family members and some Pakistani dignitaries, had been flown to the city of Gilgit by a C-130 aircraft.

“From there, they were being taken to Naltar in four helicopters for a three-day excursion trip,” the ministry statement said.

The Philippine department of foreign affairs said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of ambassador Domingo Lucenario Jr., and that his colleagues in Manila observed a two-minute period of silence in commemoration. Lucenario, 54, also served as non-resident ambassador to Afghanistan, Kyrgystan and Tajikistan. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Norwegian foreign minister Borge Brende confirmed the death of ambassador Leif H Larsen, describing him in a statement as, “a well-liked and highly respected colleague. His friends and colleagues in the foreign ministry and across our foreign stations are today in sorrow”.

Larsen, 61, is survived by a wife and a son.

Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi confirmed that Heri Listyawati, the wife of Indonesia’s ambassador, was killed while her husband Burhan Muhammad had survived with injuries.

Meanwhile, Romania’s ambassador to Pakistan, Emilian Ion, was on the same helicopter and survived, the Romanian foreign ministry said.

In Poland, the foreign ministry said in a statement that the Polish ambassador Andrzej Ananicz and his wife Zofia were on board the helicopter and that “both suffered injuries, which were not life threatening”.

Mr Sharif, in his statement, expressed his “deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident” and said he “extended heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives in this incident.”

He also announced a national day of mourning.

“We are making arrangements to send the bodies of the diplomats to their countries with full honour,” Pakistan’s foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry told state-run Pakistan Television.

The Pakistani Talban issued a statement claiming they had shot down the helicopter with an anti-aircraft missile. It was impossible to immediately verify the claim, and unclear if it was merely an opportunistic attempt to claim responsibility for an unrelated incident. Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, made no reference to the Taliban claim but said in a statement that initial reports suggest the crash was due to a “technical fault.”

* Associated Press