RAWALPINDI, Feb 25: The body of an Australian pilot, who died after coming under fire in Afghanistan, was airlifted to Islamabad and shifted to the mortuary of Pims on Wednesday, an official source told Dawn.

Mark Burdorf, a civilian helicopter pilot, was killed after his chopper was forced down by small arms fire about 65 kilometres southwest of Kandahar on Sunday.

The helicopter was carrying workers from a US construction company when the incident occurred. Reports suggested that four people died in the crash while one American woman was injured.

The body was air-lifted to Islamabad on an special plane which landed at the airport around 1.15pm. The body was shifted to Pims at 5pm, from where it will be sent to Australia.