Nepal earthquake: Wreck of missing US helicopter found

Nepal earthquake: Wreck of missing US helicopter found

The wreckage of a US military helicopter that disappeared this week while delivering aid near the Chinese border in Nepal has been found.

Six US marines and two Nepali soldiers were on board. There is "no chance" of survivors, Nepali officials say.

Tuesday's 7-3-magnitude quake killed at least 110 people.

It came as Nepal was reeling from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake of 25 April which killed more than 8,000 people and injured many more.

The editor of the Nepal Times, Kunda Dixit, said the helicopter wreckage was found 56km (35 miles) from Kathmandu.

Mr Dixit said the helicopter was found on a mountain near the village of Kalinchok, at an elevation of 3,383m (11,100 feet).

Ground troops are now being deployed to search the wreckage.

The helicopter went missing in the hours after the second quake.

Although the cause of the crash is not yet known, a nearby Indian helicopter heard radio chatter about a possible fuel problem, said Steve Warren, a US Army colonel.

The marines had been working in the vicinity of Charikot, a village that has been hit hard, a spokesman for the US Pacific Command said.

The helicopter had been flying from Kathmandu airport as part of the US Operation Sahayogi Haat, which means "helping hand" in Nepali.

More than a dozen US military aircraft have been deployed to help carry out deliveries to areas cut off by the earthquakes.

Two Nepalese army helicopters were deployed in the search for the missing UH-1Y Huey helicopter, as well as 400 troops on the ground.

Source: BBC