News Digest

Three bodies found at the site of crash U.S. Marine helicopter in Nepal

Nepal’s defence secretary says rescuers have found three bodies at the site where the wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter was found. The aircraft went missing on Tuesday while delivering aid in the Himalayan nation following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on 25 April. Six Marines and two Nepalese army soldiers were on board. Major General Binoj Basnet said the helicopter was located 40 miles north-east of Kathmandu near the Chinese border. The U.S. Marines said they were sending their own rescue team to assess the crash site.

The assessment of the site is ongoing and a thorough investigation will be conducted.

Joint ask force statement

The helicopter - part of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 - had just dropped off supplies including rice and tarpaulins and was heading to another destination. It was found around 15 miles from the town of Charikot, close to where it went missing, according to the US military joint task force in Okinawa, Japan. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said on Tuesday that radio chatter about a fuel problem was picked up from the crew before the aircraft went missing.