Two officers and a sailor martyred when a Pakistan Navy helicopter crashed due to technical fault in Gwadar on Monday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The chopper came down during a training flight, said a Pakistan Navy spokesman, adding the helicopter crashed due to technical fault.

Pakistan Navy has launched an investigation into the mishap, the spokesman added.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the helicopter crash, state-run PTV News reported, adding that he prayed for the bereaved.

https://twitter.com/PTVNewsOfficial/status/1698648402513498438

In a statement posted on the PPP’s account of X (formerly known as Twitter), former president Asif Ali Zardari also expressed sorrow over the incident and extended condolences to the families of the martyrs.

https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/1698647490625691658

PML-N Senior Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, too, expressed grief over the lives lost in the Gwadar incident and prayed for the martyred personnel.

https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/1698641135718305884

Interior Minister paid tributes to the “brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty” and prayed for the departed souls and their families.

Last year in August, a military helicopter on flood relief mission in Balochistan had crashed due to bad weather, killing six people on board.

Among those who perished were Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, a regional corps commander, a major-general and a brigadier. They were supervising flood relief and rescue efforts in the province, particularly the hard-hit Lasbela district.

Reporter Ahmad Mansoor