WEBDESK: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to purchase a new helicopter after one of its helicopters crashed during a relief operation in Mohmand on 15 August.
Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah said the province urgently needs a helicopter for natural disasters and other important tasks. He added that after the crash in Mohmand, the government was left with only one helicopter.
According to sources, the provincial cabinet has approved compensation packages for the martyrs of the Bajaur helicopter crash. The families of the two pilots will receive Rs20 million each. Both pilots, Colonel (R) Shahid Sultan and Aftab, lost their lives in the incident.
The five other crew members were contract employees. The family of flight engineer Saleem will receive Rs15 million, while the families of the two crew chiefs will be given Rs10 million each.
Sources said the pilots’ families will be compensated at the level of a Grade 19 police officer’s martyr package.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur paid tribute to the crew, saying they sacrificed their lives for others and will be remembered as true heroes. He added that the provincial government will fully support the families of the martyrs and will not leave them alone.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has received the initial inquiry into the KP helicopter crash, which says bad weather and dense fog caused the accident in Mohmand district.
Read more: Initial report blames poor visibility and dense fog for KP helicopter crash
