Bodies of Marines, others recovered from chopper

Associated Press

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

The bodies of six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers who were aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter that crashed during a relief mission in earthquake-hit Nepal have been recovered, Nepal’s army said.

The wreckage of the UH-1 “Huey” was found Friday after days of intense searching in the mountains northeast of capital Kathmandu. The first three charred bodies were retrieved the same day by Nepalese and U.S. military teams, and the rest Saturday, the Nepalese army said in a statement.

The aircraft went missing while delivering aid Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of the Marine-led joint task force, described the crash as “severe,” and said the recovery team at the site encountered extreme weather and difficult terrain. The wreckage was located about 15 miles from the town of Charikot, near where the aircraft went missing.

The U.S. relief mission was deployed soon after a magnitude-7.8 quake hit April 25, killing more than 8,200 people. It was followed by a magnitude-7.3 quake Tuesday that killed at least 117 people and injured about 2,800.

In Wichita, Kan., Marine officials Saturday notified the parents of the helicopter’s 31-year-old-pilot, Capt. Chris Norgren, that he was among those killed in the crash, a local high-school president, Leticia Nielsen, told The Wichita Eagle newspaper.