Pakistani helicopter crashes in Afghanistan

A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in Taliban-held territory in Afghanistan on Thursday and all passengers and crew are feared captured by the insurgents, officials said.

The helicopter went down in Logar province, near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan’s lawless and mountainous tribal areas.

“Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis,” Sameem Saleh, spokesman for Logar’s governor, said. “The chopper was not shot but made the landing because of technical failure.”

A Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that a helicopter belong to the Punjab provincial government had gone down, saying the fate of the crew was not yet clear.

“The Afghan authorities have assured they will investigate and know about the whereabouts of the helicopter and the passengers,” spokesman Nafees Zakaria said.