PAF pilot martyred as jet crashes in Khyber

PESHAWAR: A Pakistan Air Force pilot was martyred on Saturday when his fighter jet crashed in Jamrud district of Khyber agency, the air force said in a statement.

The fighter jet was on a routine operational training mission when the accident happened around 31 kilometres west of Peshawar city, authorities said.

"The pilot, flight Lt Omar Shahzad, sustained fatal injuries and embraced shahadat (martyrdom), no loss of civilian life and property has been reported on ground," the statement said.

The F7 PG aircraft was completely destroyed in the accident.

There will now be an enquiry to determine what caused the accident, it added.

Last August, 12 people were killed when a helicopter belonging to the army crashed in northwest Pakistan.

And in May last year, a Mi-17 army helicopter crashed at a holiday resort in the picturesque hills of Gilgit killing seven people, including two foreign ambassadors.