MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The bodies of six US marines and two Nepali soldiers killed in a US helicopter crash in Nepal have been recovered from the wreckage, the Nepalese Army said Saturday as cited by the media.
The helicopter disappeared Tuesday while on a mission to provide aid to Nepal residents following two devastating earthquakes that rocked the Himalayan nation within two weeks of each other.
A Pentagon spokesman said that the helicopter disappeared in a rugged and mountainous area as it dropped off aid supplies and was heading to another rescue site.
US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Friday expressed his condolences to the families of the victims following the reports that the helicopter was found on a mountain near the village of Kalinchok, 35 miles from the capital Katmandu.
Some 9,000 people were killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25. It was followed by a series of aftershocks, including a 7.3 quake that occurred on May 12, killing nearly 130 people.
