Nepal Earthquake: All 8 Bodies Recovered From US Marine Helicopter Wreckage

Nepal’s army said Saturday that all eight bodies of the people on board the U.S. Marine helicopter that went missing during Tuesday’s earthquake in the country have been recovered. The aircraft was conducting relief work in Charikot town, about 81 miles from the capital Kathmandu, after the region was hit by a 7.3-magnitude quake and a series of aftershocks.

The UH-1 Huey chopper was carrying six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese army officials. The wreckage was found Friday after three days of intensive search involving U.S. and Nepali aircraft and hundreds of ground troops. The wreckage was reportedly located about 15 miles from the town of Charikot, one of the hardest-hit villages by the latest earthquake.

Recovery teams that faced extreme weather and difficult terrain during the operation found three bodies on Friday and retrieved the rest on Saturday.

Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of the Marine-led joint task force, told reporters on Friday that the cause of the crash was not immediately clear and the identification of the bodies has not been carried yet, the Associated Press reported.

A magnitude-7.8 quake hit Nepal on April 25, killing more than 8,200 people and injuring over 17,000 people. The powerful quake was followed by another quake on Tuesday that killed 117 people and injured 2,800.