MUZAFFARABAD: A helicopter escorting President Pervez Musharraf to an earthquake anniversary ceremony in Pakistani Kashmir crashed on Monday, killing four troops and wounding his spokesman, officials said.   

"The chopper was in the party going with the president when a technical fault developed, causing it to crash land and catch fire," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.

"Four troops were killed. Major General retired Rashid Qureshi was also injured but he is out of danger," said Arshad, referring to Musharraf's official spokesman.   

Musharraf himself was safe and his own helicopter landed in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, where he was leading a service for victims of the 2005 earthquake, a security official said.   

At least 73,000 people were killed and 2.5 million people made homeless by the giant 7.6-magnitude quake.   

"Security forces have cordoned off the area and they are investigating the cause of the crash," the security official said, adding that the site was in the Jhelum Valley some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Muzaffarabad.