ISLAMABAD, June 22: Inter-Services Public Relations director-general Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan on Thursday disputed Taliban’s claim that it had shot down an army aviation helicopter, saying the crash was because of a technical fault.

Talking to Dawn, he said the claim was baseless.

The army helicopter, Bell 412, had crashed into a dam early Wednesday morning near Bannu, leaving four personnel dead while three others had been rescued.

The helicopter had gone down shortly after taking off from a military base in Bannu, located close to North Waziristan.

Maj-Gen Sultan said the helicopter had developed a technical fault, which had been communicated by the pilot to the control tower prior to the crash. “The pilot had told the control tower that the helicopter had developed a technical fault, after which the helicopter started losing height,” he said.

As the helicopter was gradually coming down, three of the soldiers on board the ill-fated copter jumped off and were able to save their lives.

The ISPR chief said no one would have survived had the helicopter been hit by hostile fire.

He said the helicopter had crashed in the middle of the dam, where it was almost impossible for it to be hit by ground fire.

Meanwhile, the four army personnel killed in the crash were buried in their native towns with full military honours, said an ISPR press release.