Six killed, eight injured as chartered helicopter crashes in North Waziristan

ISLAMABAD: At least six people were killed and eight others critically wounded as a chartered helicopter crashed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan district on Saturday.

The copter belonged to the Mari Petroleum Company, a public limited company.

The company's spokesperson said at least 14 people, including three foreign pilots, were flying in the chartered Mi-8 helicopter.

The incident, as per the official, took place because of technical errors near an oil field and has nothing to do with nothing to do with the security situation.

Providing details of the incident, the spokesperson said that the ill-fated aircraft was providing personal transportation in the Shewa Waziristan block.

The injured persons are being transferred to a nearby hospital and relief operations, by the Pakistan Army and others, are underway, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, sources have told Geo News the three pilots hailed from Russia.

Helicopter crashes are not uncommon in Pakistan. In September last year, two Pakistan Navy officers and a solider were martyred after their copter crashed in Balochistan's Gwadar.

The Pakistan Navy spokesperson revealed that the mishap happened due to a technical issue during training.

"As a result of the crash, two officers and one sailor of the Pakistan Navy embraced martyrdom," the spokesperson said, adding that the Pakistan Navy had initiated an investigation into the incident.