5 killed in Pakistan helicopter crash, helicopter with 8 aboard missing in Indonesia

At least five people, including two pilots, were killed as a helicopter crashed in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region on Monday, reported Xinhua, quoting local officials.

The aircraft, which was conducting a test landing on a newly proposed helipad, went down due to a technical failure in Diamer district's Chilas town, Faizullah Faraq, a spokesperson of the GB government, told Xinhua.

The helicopter belonged to the Pakistan Army and was being used by the GB government for relief operations in flood-hit areas, he added.

Diamer's senior police official confirmed the fatalities and said rescue and police teams had reached the site for aftermath efforts.

Meanwhile, a helicopter carrying eight people has gone missing after losing contact with air traffic control in Indonesia's South Kalimantan province on Monday, according to Dendy Prasetyo, a press officer for the provincial search and rescue office.

The communication failure occurred at 8:54 a.m. local time, shortly after the helicopter took off.

The aircraft had departed from an airport in Kotabaru regency and was en route to Palangkaraya, capital of the nearby Central Kalimantan province.

A search and rescue operation, involving local search and rescue personnel and police, was launched immediately after contact was lost.