Three bodies found near wrecked US helicopter in Nepal

Nepalese rescuers on Friday found three bodies near the wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter that disappeared earlier this week while on a relief mission in the earthquake-hit Himalayan nation, and officials said it was unlikely there were any survivors from the crash.

A U.S. search team identified the wreckage as that of the missing Marines UH-1Y Huey helicopter deployed after Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake last month that killed more than 8,200 people.

"The wreckage of the helicopter was found in pieces, and there are no chances of any survivors," Nepal's Defense Secretary Iswori Poudyal said. He gave no details about the nationalities of the three victims, only saying their remains were charred.

The helicopter was carrying six Marines and two Nepalese army soldiers.

"The assessment of the site is ongoing and a thorough investigation will be conducted," a statement from a Marine-led joint task force said.

The U.S. statement made no mention of the fate of the six Marines and two Nepali soldiers on board the Huey that went missing on Tuesday, the day a strong aftershock hit Nepal and killed more than 100 people.

“This tragedy is a reminder of the vital but dangerous role that American servicemembers play in delivering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement. “Our mission continues in Nepal, and we remain dedicated to answering the call when disaster strikes, both in the Asia-Pacific and around the world.”

The wreckage was found about 15 miles from the town of Charikot, near where the aircraft had gone missing on Tuesday while delivering humanitarian aid to villages hit by two deadly earthquakes, according to the U.S. military joint task force in Okinawa, Japan.

The area is near Gothali village in the district of Dolakha, about 50 miles northeast of Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

The discovery of the wreckage, first spotted by Nepalese ground troops and two army helicopters Friday, followed days of intense search involving U.S. and Nepalese aircraft and even U.S. satellites.

"It was found on a steep slope," Major General Binoj Basnet said. U.S. and Nepali teams were investigating the site and were expected to announce their findings at news conferences later on Friday, he said.

The area's tallest peak soars to more than 23,000 feet. Hillsides are cloaked with lush forest that made it hard to find the chopper even though it came down just a few miles from Charikot.

An army base in the town has been serving as a hub for operations to airlift and treat those injured in the two earthquakes. The U.S. relief mission was deployed soon after a magnitude-7.8 quake hit on April 25, killing more than 8,200 people. It was followed by another magnitude-7.3 quake on Tuesday that killed 117 people and injured 2,800.

The combined death toll is approaching that of a 1934 earthquake, which killed more than 8,500 people in the worst-ever natural disaster to hit the poor Himalayan nation.

The helicopter had been delivering rice and tarps in Charikot, the area worst hit by Tuesday's quake. It had dropped off supplies in one location and was en route to a second site when contact was lost.

A total of 300 U.S. military personnel have been supporting the aid mission in Nepal, which includes three Hueys, four Marine MV-22B Ospreys, two KC-130 Hercules and four Air Force C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft. The Huey helicopter that crashed was from Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadron 469 based at Camp Pendleton, California.

Wire services