MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Rescuers recovered the remains of all 22 soldiers aboard a military helicopter that crashed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir the previous day, officials said Thursday, confirming there were no survivors, as senior government and military officials attended a mass funeral for the victims.
The helicopter crashed Wednesday in Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, apparently because of a technical fault, according to Pakistan’s
military. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause.
An Associated Press reporter counted 22 coffins draped in Pakistan’s national flag at a funeral ceremony.
Witnesses and regional officials said the remains of the soldiers were recovered from the badly burned wreckage. The dead included a colonel and two army majors, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Among those attending the funerals was regional Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore.
According to the officials, the soldiers had been traveling to carry out security duties after a call for a march on Muzaffarabad by the Joint Awami Action Committee, a recently banned alliance of various groups.
Authorities have not indicated any connection between the planned protest and the crash.
Pakistan has deployed additional security forces across the region, where tensions have been high since the weekend after members of an outlawed group attacked police and security personnel, killing four officers.
Military helicopter crashes are not uncommon in Pakistan.
In September, an army helicopter on a routine flight crashed in northern Pakistan, killing two pilots and three technicians.
