Asia-Pacific

UN flood relief helicopter crashed in Pakistan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-01 14:20

ISLAMABAD - A United Nations flood relief helicopter which crashed earlier Friday morning in Pakistan's southern province of Sindh belongs to Russia, so far at least 13 people were injured during the accident, according to local media reports.

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The helicopter, MI-8, is rented by the UN World Food Program from the Russian side for its relief work in the flooded area in southern Pakistan.

According to rescue operation official Brigadier Zubair Ahmed, the crash was due to technical problem. Rescue teams have been sent to the crash area and rescue work is still underway.

Some of the injured have been shifted to a nearby Chinese military medical team in Sehwan, a city in southwest Sindh province.

Eyewitness told Xinhua over telephone that the injured people sent to the Chinese military medical team included three UN workers and they are going to receive the operation there by the Chinese military doctors.

Conditions of the injured are not clear at the moment.

It was reported that the helicopter crashed into Manchar Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of the Asia's largest. It is located west of the Indus River, in Dadu District, and was in high flood late last month.