At least eighteen people including two pilots and five military personnel were martyred and twelve civilians injured when an aircraft of Pakistan Army Aviation crashed near Mora Kalu in Rawalpindi on Tuesday morning. 

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the plane was on a routine training flight when it met with the incident. The cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained.

Lt Col Saqib, Lt Col Wasim, Naib Subedar Afzal, Hawaldar Amin, Hawaldar Rahmat were among the martyred, the military’s media wing reported. 

Soon after the crash, a massive fire broke out that engulfed several houses in the locality.

Rescue teams of 1122 and Pakistan Army immediately rushed to the site and started the rescue operation. The injured and deceased were shifted to the Holy Family and other hospitals in Rawalpindi.

Emergency has already been declared in all hospitals across Rawalpindi.