ISLAMABAD: Eight United Nations peacekeepers were killed in a helicopter crash in Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, the Pakistani military’s media wing said. “While undertaking a reconnaissance mission in Congo, 1 PUMA Helicopter crashed. Exact cause of crash is yet to be ascertained,” the statement said.

It added that six Pakistani troops were among those killed. Earlier Tuesday, the UN Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) said in a tweet Tuesday that it had “lost contact” with one of its helicopters which was on a reconnaissance mission in the region.

“The causes of this disappearance are not yet known. Research is ongoing,” the mission said. Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his “deep sense of shock and grief”, his office said, paying tribute to the global peace effort by the country’s armed forces.