Pak Army Lt Gen among 6 dead in helicopter crash in Balochistan province

Islamabad, Aug 02: All six army personnel on board including Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali died in a helicopter crash that was caused due to bad weather, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The wreckage of the helicopter was found in Musa Goth, Windar, Lasbela. The six individuals on board included the Commander XII Corps Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali, who was supervising the flood relief operations in Balochistan province which has been badly hit by the torrential rains, PTI reported.

The accident occurred due to bad weather as per initial investigations. The Pakistan Army Aviation helicopter was on flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan when it lost contact with ATC on Monday. Incidentally, General Sarfraz was one of the contenders interviewed by then prime minister Imran Khan for the post of director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in October last year, according to the Express Tribune newspaper.

He had served as Pakistan's defence attache in the United States. The others on board included Director-General of Coast Guards Brig Amjad Hanif (who was recently approved for promotion to the rank of Maj Gen), Brig Muhammad Khalid, Major Saeed Ahmed, Major Muhammad Talha Manan and Naik Mudassar Fayyaz. Earlier, Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the search operations for the helicopter during a telephonic conversation between the two.

Shehbaz had expressed his concern over the safety of Lt Gen Sarfraz and other officials onboard the helicopter and had termed the senior army officer a "thorough professional and an excellent person".

The helicopter took off from Uthal at 5:10pm on Monday and was supposed to land in Karachi at 6:05pm, but it lost contact with the air traffic controller, officials said. Heavy rains and flash floods have wreaked havoc in Balochistan, claiming 478 lives. The civil authorities and the Pakistan Army are currently providing relief programmes to the displaced in the province.

Since mid-June, the monsoon rains have led to swollen rivers and damaged highways and bridges, disrupting traffic all across Pakistan.

Balochistan province is the worst affected due to the heavy rains and flash floods and has recorded 127 deaths so far.

The Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and rescue workers from the PDMA were carrying out rescue and relief operations in all floods affected parts of Balochistan.

Thousands of stranded people in the Lasbela and Jhal Magsi districts of Balochistan had been rescued in the operation while floods had damaged around 13,000 mud-walled houses in Quetta, Pishin, Jaffarabad, Khuzdar, Kohlu, Barkhan, Lasbela and Jhal Magsi districts of Balochistan.

The floods have also led to a suspension of train service between Pakistan and Iran after various portions of railway track between the two countries were washed away.