18 Martyred After Pak Army's Training Plane Crashes In Rawalpindi

18 martyred after Pak Army's training plane crashes in Rawalpindi

17 people, including five crew members and 12 civilians, lost their lives after a Pakistan Army aviation aircraft on a routine training flight crashed near Mora Kalu Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI (Pakistan Point News / Online - 30th July, 2019) 17 people, including five crew members and 12 civilians, lost their lives after a Pakistan Army aviation aircraft on a routine training flight crashed near Mora Kalu Rawalpindi.According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release issued on Tuesday, 12 others were injured in the incident.The crew members martyred in the incident, including two pilots, were: Lt Col Saqib (pilot), Lt Col Waseem (pilot), Naib Subedar Afzal, Havaldar Ibne Ameen and Havaldar Rehmat.

The ISPR said that rescue teams of the Pakistan Army and Rescue 1122 had reached the site of the incident and a fire had been extinguished. All injured were shifted from the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) to the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi.Military officials cordoned off the crash site. A cleanup operation at the site of the incident has started in order to clear rubble.Several men and women who lost their relatives in the crash were seen wailing and crying as rescuers put charred bodies of the victims into ambulances.

Corps Commander Rawalpindi Lieutenant General Bilal Akbar visited the site of the plane crash where he was briefed by Pakistan Army officers on the incident.Talking to newsmen, a rescue official said: "A small plane crashed into a residential area. So far we have retrieved 18 dead bodies, including 13 civilians and five crew members," adding that nine people had also been injured.Teams of 1122 and Pakistan Army immediately rushed to the scene and started the rescue operation.

At least 12 people were injured in the mishap.Emergency was declared in the big three hospitals of the city. While the injured and bodies were shifted to the Holy Family and DHQ hospitals in Rawalpindi.Pakistan's deadliest air disaster was in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad, killing all 152 on board.Pakistan has a chequered aviation safety record, with plane and helicopter crashes frequent over the years.

In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from remote northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010, when an Airbus 321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad while coming in to land, killing all 152 on board.