• World
  • Nepal

Missing U.S. Marine Helicopter Found Crashed Near Nepal’s Border With China

3 minute read
Nepalese army men search for the missing U.S. Marine helicopter in the earthquake affected Dolakha District of Nepal on May 14, 2015.
Nepalese army men search for the missing U.S. Marine helicopter in the earthquake affected Dolakha District of Nepal on May 14, 2015.Niranjan Shrestha—AP
By Deepak Adhikari / Kathmandu and Nikhil Kumar
Updated: | Originally published: ;

The wreckage of a U.S. marine chopper on an aid mission in Nepal that was reported missing hours after the Himalayan nation was hit by a 7.3 magnitude temblor on Tuesday has been found near the country’s border with China, the U.S. military’s Pacific Command said on Friday.

The wreckage of the UH-1Y Huey helicopter, which was carrying six U.S. marines and two Nepalese soldiers when it was declared missing, was found just before 2 P.M. local time in an area approximately 8 miles north of Charikot, in Nepal’s northeastern Dolakha district. “An assessment of the site is ongoing and a thorough investigation will be conducted,” U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Major David Eastburn said in an emailed statement.

Earlier, Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, a spokesman for Nepal’s home ministry told TIME that the chopper had been found in Dolakha’s Kalinchok village. “It crashed in a slope near Kalinchok [Hindu] temple,” Dhakal said.

Reuters, meanwhile, quoted Iswori Prasad Paudyal, the top civil servant in Nepal’s defense ministry, as saying that three bodies had been found in the wreckage of the chopper. “The search for others is continuing. As the helicopter has broken into pieces and totally crashed there is no chance of any survivors,” he told the news agency.

James Nachtwey’s Dispatches From Nepal - Part 2

Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
Bishnu Gurung sobs after her 3-year-old daughter, Rejina Gurung, was found buried in the rubble in the village of Gumda in Gorkha district, near the epicenter of last month's Nepal earthquake, on May 8, 2015. The baby’s father is a guest worker in Malaysia. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
Bishnu Gurung weeps at the funeral of her 3-year-old daughter who was discovered buried in rubble in Gumda, a village in Nepal’s Gorkha district, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
Inhabitants salvage building materials from their destroyed homes in Gumda Village, near the epicenter of the earthquake in Gorkha district, where five people died and 14 are still missing in landslides, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
A villager salvages building supplies in Gumda, in the Gorkha district of Nepal, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters. by James Nachtwey
A boy who was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet sits with his father after being evacuated by an Indian army helicopter, May 3, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters. by James Nachtwey
An injured boy and his father are evacuated by the Indian army from a remote Himalayan village, May 3, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters. by James Nachtwey
View from the window of a helicopter during relief operations to remote mountain villages in Nepal, May 2, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters. by James Nachtwey
The Indian army evacuates monks from the Hinang Gompa monastery in Lhi, a village in the Gorkha district, in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas, May 2, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters. by James Nachtwey
Young Buddhist monks gaze out of a helicopter as they are evacuated by the Indian army from a monastery in the Himalayas, May 2, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Inhabitants salvaging building materials and possessions from their destroyed houses. by James Nachtwey
In Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake, inhabitants sift through the wreckage looking for possessions from their destroyed houses, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
Villagers look through rubble in Barpak, Nepal, May 5, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
A villager stands among the ruins of the destroyed houses in Barpak, Nepal, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
Saainli Gurung weeps during the funeral of her son, Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who was found in the rubble in Barpak, Nepal, May 5, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his mother, looks for possessions from his house in Barpak, Nepal, May 5, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
At the epicenter of the quake in Barpak, Nepal, where homes once stood, stones and wooden frames were all that remained. May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
A man lifts debris from a flattened structure in Barpak, Nepal, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Inhabitants salvaging building materials and possessions from their destroyed houses. by James Nachtwey
A woman stands among the wreckage in Barpak, Nepal, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
A woman walks in the remote village of Gumda in Ghorka district, Nepal, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME

The helicopter was on a mission to deliver aid to earthquake victims around 85 miles east of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu when it was declared missing. The U.S. marines were part of a joint task force set up in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25 that killed over 8,000 people.

The quake, which was centered in a mountainous region to the northwest of Kathmandu, was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks — and then on May 12, by violent tremors triggered by a large 7.3 magnitude rupture with an epicenter to the capital’s northeast, between Kathmandu and Mount Everest.

Dolakaha was among the districts hardest hit by the second quake on Tuesday, with the tremors knocking down buildings and killing more than 100 people in the already devastated South Asian nation.

As news of the missing U.S. chopper emerged shortly after Tuesday’s quake, American and Nepalese air and ground forces fanned out across the region in a massive search effort. Indian forces also assisted in the search, according U.S. Pacific Command.

 

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com