MAY 15, 2015
KATHMANDU, NEPAL (AP)
Nepal's Defense Secretary Iswori Poudyal says army rescuers
have found three bodies at the site where the wreckage of the U.S. Marine
helicopter was found.
Poudyal gave no other details on Friday.
The aircraft had gone missing Tuesday while delivering aid
in the Himalayan nation following a magnitude-7.8 earthquake on April 25.
Six Marines and two Nepalese army soldiers were on board.
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SAN DIEGO-BASED MARINE HELICOPTER FOUND AFTER VANISHING ON
DISASTER MISSION IN NEPAL
MAY 14, 2015
The wreckage of a U.S. military helicopter missing in Nepal
has been found on the slopes of a mountain east of Kathmandu, a local army
official said Friday.
The American chopper was spotted in the Gorthali area, at an
altitude of 11,200 feet, according to Brig. Gen. Binoj Basnet. There was no
immediate word on the fate of the crew.
The UH-1 Huey helicopter was carrying six U.S. Marines and
two Nepali service members when it lost contact Tuesday evening, Pentagon
officials said.
Radio transmissions indicated its crew was having some type
of fuel problem before it vanished near Charikot, roughly 45 miles east of the
capital of Kathmandu.
The helicopter was assisting with disaster relief in the
aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the nation on April 25,
killing thousands of people. Another strong earthquake hit Nepal on Tuesday
afternoon, causing more damage and casualties.
The area where it lost contact is near the epicenter of
Tuesday’s magnitude 7.3 earthquake.
About 300 American personnel are on the ground in Nepal
helping with earthquake relief efforts.
Marine
Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 is part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing,
headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar – part of the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.
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U.S. MARINE HELICOPTER SUPPORTING EARTHQUAKE RELIEF MISSING
IN NEPAL
MAY 12, 2015
A U.S. Marine helicopter supporting earthquake relief in
Nepal was declared missing Tuesday with eight people on board, a military
spokesman said.
The UH-1Y Huey with two Nepalese soldiers and six U.S.
Marines on board disappeared over Charikot, Nepal, at about 10 p.m. local time
(12:15 p.m. ET), said U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Army Maj. Dave Eastburn.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said the U.S. military
is hopeful that the missing helicopter landed and is out of communication. A
military official told NBC News there is "no indication that there was a
crash" but "it is dark," so they could not immediately confirm
that.
A U.S. defense official told NBC News that the Marines were
equipped with a GPS device, a radio and an emergency beacon, but the helicopter
was flying over difficult terrain, which might render the equipment
ineffective. The official said the Marines also had a satellite phone, strobes,
flares and signal mirrors.
Eastburn said military personnel in Nepal were
"responding to the emergency" and the incident was under investigation.
Nepalese military forces on the ground near the last known location of the
aircraft were also assisting in the search, according to a statement from U.S.
Pacific Command.
U.S. and Nepalese-supported aerial searches will start at
daybreak, the statement, released just after midnight Nepal time, said.
The helicopter is part of Marine Light Attack Helicopter
Squadron 469, which is part of the 3rd Marine Air Wing based at Camp Pendleton
in California, according to NBC
San Diego.
Charikot was one of the villages hardest hit by a
7.3-magnitude quake on Tuesday.