According to the latest reports, the wreckage of the missing Pakistani military helicopter has been found. According to the spokesperson of the Pakistani Armed Forces Major General Babar Iftikhar, all six soldiers on board died.
Earlier today, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said as many as six individuals, including Commander 12 Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali who was supervising relief operations in the flood-hit province, were on board.
“Search operation is underway,” it added. It is reported that the helicopter might have crashed and the chances of survival of all on board were slim. However; there was no official confirmation of the crash from the military's media wing till the filing of this report.
Army troops, police and other rescue teams were busy, searching the helicopter but hilly area and damaged roads due to floods hampering the operation, the Tribune reported.
According to details, the helicopter took off from Uthal at around 5:10 pm and was supposed to land in Karachi at 6:05 pm, but the chopper lost contact with the air traffic controller. The search operation had been going on for the last six hours. The rescue mission was hampered by the damage caused to the road infrastructure due to the ongoing flooding.
General Sarfraz, the commander of the southern command, was one of the contenders interviewed by former prime minister Imran Khan for the post of director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in October last year.
He served as Pakistan's defence attaché in the United States.
Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and Pakistan Navy have been conducting rescue operations in the province after deadly floods wreaked havoc there killing at least 132 people.
According to the latest PDMA report, several roads and bridges were washed away by floods disconnecting Lasbela and Sindh.
Prime Minister Shehbaz on Monday also visited flood-hit areas of Balochistan, including Qilla Saifullah, Chaman, and Quetta to supervise the relief operation and get a first-hand account of the damage caused by record monsoon rains.
ZZ/PR