Layyah incident: Search for the missing continues

LAYYAH: Search for the missing persons of Layyah incident is underway and three bodies have been found from the River Indus Thursday, Geo News reported.

Four officials of the Rangers, including Punjab Director General Maj Gen Muhammad Nawaz and his son Capt Asif Nawaz, were in the copter when it crashed into the river near Kot Sultan, Layyah.

The bodies of DG Rangers Maj Gen Muhammad Nawaz and his son Capt Asif Nawaz have been identified where as one body could not be identified.

The helicopter was on routine operational duty when it fell into the Indus. Maj Gen Nawaz, his son Capt Asif Nawaz, pilot Amir Abbas and Subedar Ibadullah, a technician, were on board.

The helicopter had departed Dera Ghazi Khan and just 25 minutes after take-off crashed and fell into the River Indus in Mauza Khanwala near Kot Sultan.

“The crashed chopper was almost entirely submerged in the water and only a minor portion of it was visible,” said an eyewitness, Ghaffar Baloch. “The residents heard the terrible sound and Punjab Agriculture Minister Ahmad Ali Olakh and other authorities reached the spot.”

The crash is being linked to cloudy weather and dust storms. According to reports, the chopper was in contact with officials at the Multan Airport till 10:12am after which it lost contact with the control tower.

A Rangers spokesman said the copter was going to Kashmore but had to be re-routed for Multan due to the inclement weather. Layyah DPO Muhammad Saleem said the helicopter caught fire midair before crashing. He confirmed that the rescue operation was in progress and three dead body had so far been recovered.

A special team of divers joined the rescue operation and retrieved wreckage of the destroyed helicopter. The search was halted last night (Wednesday) due to darkness that resumed Thursday morning.