Quake rescue helicopter crashes, six dead

A Pakistani military helicopter flying a quake relief mission crashed in bad weather near the Himalayan town of Bagh, killing all six people aboard, a senior army official said today.

The MI-17 transport helicopter was returning home late yesterday after dropping off relief workers and the six killed were four Pakistani officers and two enlisted men, said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.

The debris of the helicopter was located in a valley near Bagh early this morning, he said.

The cause of the crash was suspected to be either bad weather or a technical malfunction.

“An investigation has been ordered,” Sultan told said.

The Himalayan regionof Kashmir, worst hit by the October 8 magnitude-7.6 quake, has been plagued by high winds, rain and a low cloud ceiling for two days, hampering relief efforts.

At least 38,000 people were killed in the quake and 62,000 were injured, including many still in desperate need of medical care. An estimated 2.3 million were left homeess and aid workers have been scrambling to provide temporary shelter before winter arrives.