Five killed in Pakistani Military Helicopter crash during flood rescue mission

A Pakistani military helicopter crashed in the rugged northern mountains on Monday, killing all five crew members on board, officials confirmed. It is the second fatal helicopter crash in less than a month.

The aircraft was on a rescue operation in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, a region badly battered by floods near Pakistan’s border with China. “The helicopter was on a rescue mission after floods hit the area,” regional government spokesman Faizullah Faraq told dpa.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash. While the inquiry is underway, Faraq said early assessments suggest a possible technical fault.

The latest tragedy follows a similar incident just weeks ago in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where another military helicopter went down in bad weather, also killing five crew members.

The crashes come at a time when Pakistan is reeling from devastating monsoon floods that have killed more than 850 people nationwide. With over 240 million people, the country is considered by the United Nations to be among the most climate-vulnerable in the world. Each year, hundreds of lives are lost and thousands displaced due to floods, landslides, and other climate-induced disasters.