Pakistani army helicopter crashes

A Pakistani army helicopter with about 16 people aboard crashed today in a remote northwestern tribal region that has been the scene of sporadic fighting with foreign militants and their local supporters, police and a senior army official said.

Authorities said it was unlikely there were any survivors. Most of those on board were believed to be Pakistani soldiers.

Rescue teams have recovered at least 12 bodies from the crash site, said Naseer Mohammed a local police official in Karak, the town nearest the crash site.

He said the helicopter was headed to Bannu, a town on the edge of the tribal region, after leaving Rawalpindi earlier in the morning.

The helicopter caught fire after the crash and several bodies were believed trapped inside the wreckage. It was not clear what caused the crash, but it appeared to be an accident, Mohammed said.

The crash came a day after the second-ranking army general, Vice-chief of army staff, General Yousaf Khan, visited the tribal areas to meet with his troops.

Khan is second only to President General Pervez Musharraf, the military ruler who took over this nation in a 1999 bloodless coup, in the military hierarchy.