May 19 , 2015
News
Indonesian envoy dies after Naltar helicopter crash
JAKARTA: An Indonesian ambassador who was on a Pakistani military helicopter that crashed this month killing two other foreign envoys died Tuesday after battling severe burn injuries, Indonesia’s foreign minister said.
Ambassador Burhan Muhammad, 58, was aboard the military helicopter, along with his wife and a delegation of ambassadors when it crashed on May 8 and set a school building ablaze in Naltar area of Gilgit.
His wife, the Norwegian and Filipino ambassadors, and the wife of the Malaysian envoy were killed immediately.
Muhammad had severe injuries and had to be evacuated to a Singapore hospital last week.
"Indonesia´s foreign ministry has just lost one of its best diplomats, Ambassador Burhan Muhammad, who passed away at 00:50 on May 19 local time in Singapore," foreign minister Retno Marsudi said.
Muhammad and his wife are survived by their two sons.
The military and Pakistan’s foreign office said the crash was due to a technical fault while landing. Officials added the school was shut at the time.
It was Pakistan’s worst air crash since 2012, when a Boeing 737 passenger plane went down in Islamabad, killing 130 people.Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk