Pakistan Army helicopter en route from Balochistan to Karachi goes missing

Karachi, Aug 02: A Pakistan Army aviation helicopter which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan has gone missing, Pakistan Inter-Services Public Relations confirmed on Monday.

The media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces ISPR said that the helicopter carried XII Corps' Commander General Sarfraz Ali and other five senior military officials who were supervising flood relief operations being carried out in Balochistan.

"A Pakistan army aviation helicopter which was on flood relief ops in Lasbela, Balochistan lost contact with ATC. 6 individuals were on board including Commander 12 Corps who was supervising flood relief ops in Balochistan. Search operation is underway," tweets Pakistan's DG ISPR.

While Pakistan media reports said that the helicopter lost contact with the Air Traffic Contol (ATC) and has been missing for around the last five hours.

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.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday visited flood-ravaged Balochistan province and assured the affected people of all possible help in their rescue and rehabilitation as the death toll from the monsoon rains and flash flooding across the country on Sunday reached 320.

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.