Overview
- Rescuers recovered the remains of all 22 personnel from the burned wreckage after the Mi-17 crashed during take-off on Wednesday, the military said, confirming there were no survivors.
- The Inter-Services Public Relations said a formal board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the exact technical cause of the accident and investigators have begun onsite examinations.
- Mass and ceremonial funerals were held in Muzaffarabad and Rawalpindi with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir among those paying respects.
- Officials noted the crash occurred while the region had a heavy security presence for recent protests but they rejected any operational link between the unrest and the accident.
- The Mi-17 is a mainstay of Pakistan Army Aviation and the crash adds to a recent pattern of fatal helicopter accidents that could prompt closer scrutiny of maintenance, overhaul practices, and operational procedures.