Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan narrowly

Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan narrowly misses helicopter crash
The Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan was meant to travel in a military helicopter carrying foreign diplomats and family that crashed in the country’s mountainous north on Friday.

Instead, a last-minute helicopter change put Heather Cruden and three other female ambassadors from Lebanon, Austria and France on a “VIP helicopter” courtesy of Pakistan’s prime minister, who was also in the region at the time to launch two projects, according to the Pakistan ministry of foreign affairs.

The female ambassadors flew ahead of the main group on the helicopter belonging to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “… He wanted the four lady ambassadors to go separately and it was a gesture of goodwill on behalf of our prime minister,” said Ali Anser, deputy chief of protocol at Pakistan’s Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, which organized the nearly 60-member group’s visit to development projects in the Gilgit region.

The helicopter crash killed the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines and the wives of the Malaysia and Indonesia ambassadors.

“The Canadian high commissioner was not in that helicopter, she was in a separate helicopter and she is safe and sound,” Mr. Anser said.

The prime minister’s helicopter arrived safely at its destination.

The day started in Islamabad, then the diplomats and their families were transported by plane to Gilgit, the main city in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory.

From there, four helicopters were to carry them to the Naltar Valley, nearly 50 kilometres away, where they were to visit development projects.

The first two of the four helicopters carrying the main group of foreign dignitaries arrived safely. But the third helicopter crashed during an emergency landing, hitting a school. The Mi-17 helicopter was carrying