On Thursday, Pakistani officials confirmed that rescuers have recovered the remains of all 22 service members who were on board a military helicopter that crashed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir one day earlier, bringing a tragic end to search operations and verifying that there were no survivors from the incident. Senior political and military leaders joined a mass funeral service for the fallen troops in the regional capital of Muzaffarabad, where the crash took place.
Initial assessments from Pakistan’s military indicate that the crash was likely caused by a technical malfunction, though a full formal investigation is still ongoing to pinpoint the exact root cause of the accident. An Associated Press journalist on site at the funeral counted 22 coffins, each covered with the national flag of Pakistan, honoring the deceased personnel.
Witnesses and local administrative officials confirmed that all remains were pulled from the heavily charred wreckage of the downed aircraft. Two unnamed security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they lacked authorization to share details publicly, confirmed the ranks of the deceased include one colonel and two majors.
The helicopter was en route to deploy personnel for security assignments ahead of a planned protest march on Muzaffarabad organized by the Joint Awami Action Committee, an alliance of regional groups that was recently banned by authorities. To date, however, officials have not found or announced any link between the planned protest action and the crash itself.
Regional tensions have been elevated across Pakistan-administered Kashmir since earlier that weekend, when members of another outlawed extremist group carried out targeted attacks against police and security forces, leaving four law enforcement officers dead. In response to the rising unrest, Pakistan has deployed additional security detachments across the region to maintain public order.
Military aviation accidents are not an uncommon occurrence in Pakistan, where rugged mountain terrain and challenging weather conditions often increase operational risks for military flights. In a separate incident just months prior in September 2024, an army helicopter conducting a routine training flight crashed in the mountainous northern region of the country, killing all five people on board — two pilots and three technical crew members.