No survivors were reported after an Mi-17 helicopter of Pakistan Army Aviation crashed near Muzaffarabad on Wednesday during take-off “due to a technical fault”, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Rescue and recovery teams immediately reached the crash site. “All personnel on board embraced martyrdom. There were no survivors,” the ISPR said in a statement.

“A board of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact technical cause of the accident,” the military’s media affairs wing said.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, along with all ranks of the army, expressed “deep grief over the tragic loss of precious lives and extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families”, the ISPR said.

The army’s aviation wing began operating Russian-made Mi-17 transport helicopters in the late 1990s. Mi-17s are considered reliable workhorses of Pakistan Army Aviation.

The helicopter can perform utility, transport and combat roles. It carries a crew of three and has space for up to 24 troops or four tonnes of cargo.

Over the years, the United States has helped Pakistan refurbish and overhaul 22 Mi-17 helicopters.

Condolences

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the helicopter crash, state-run APP reported.

In separate statements, the president and the prime minister extended their heartfelt sympathies to the families of those martyred in the accident.

“The entire nation pays tribute to the great sacrifice of the martyrs and shares the grief of the bereaved families,” President Zardari said.

Paying tribute to the personnel who embraced martyrdom in the crash, PM Shehbaz said that the entire nation salutes the brave soldiers for their sacrifices.

Both leaders prayed for the elevation of the martyrs’ ranks and for strength and patience for the bereaved families.

Deputy PM Ishaq Dar said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic crash”.

“We salute their service, courage and sacrifice in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families during this hour of grief,” he said in a post on X.

The deputy PM prayed for the highest ranks of the martyrs and for strength and patience for their loved ones.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also expressed his grief, commending the martyrs as the “pride of the nation who sacrificed their lives for the country’s security and defence”.

Bugti extended his tribute to the martyred personnel and prayed for the bereaved families.

The Senate also offered fateha for those who lost their lives in the incident, with Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman leading the special prayer.

Past crashes

In the last such crash reported, five personnel had died in September 2025 after an army helicopter crashed in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district after a “technical fault”.

In August 2025, a rescue helicopter of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government crashed in the Mohmand district due to bad weather, killing two pilots and three crew members.

The second half of 2022 saw two crashes of army helicopters.

On August 2, the wreckage of a Pakistan Army helicopter was found in Balochistan’s Lasbela district a day after it went missing. All six people on board, including Commander 12 Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, embraced martyrdom in the incident.

The next month, six army officials, including two majors, were martyred after a helicopter crashed during a mission near Khost in Balochistan’s Harnai.

In December 2021, two pilots lost their lives after an army aviation helicopter crashed at Siachen in GB’s Ghanche district.

A year before that, four personnel embraced martyrdom when an army helicopter crashed due to technical reasons during a casualty evacuation in GB’s Astore district.

A 2015 crash of a military helicopter near KP’s Mansehra claimed the lives of all twelve on board.