Three charred bodies and wreckage of a US Marine chopper that went missing while delivering aid in quake-hit Nepal were on Friday recovered in a remote hilly area as death toll from the fresh quake reached 117 and five fresh tremors kept people on edge in the battered nation.
The missing US Marine Corps UH-1 Huey carrying two Nepalese Army personnel and six Marines onboard has been spotted in the remote mountainous area of Ghorthali area of Sindhupalchok District, 100 <g data-gr-id="59">kms</g> east of Kathmandu, according to Nepal Army.
The chopper disappeared on Tuesday when the second powerful temblor struck and was spotted by a Nepalese army helicopter.
After receiving the information from the ground troops, the Nepalese Army spotted the crashed chopper northeast of Kalinchok which lies at an altitude of 11,200 feet.
“The wreckage of the helicopter was found in pieces and there are no chances of any survivors,” Nepal’s Defense Secretary <g data-gr-id="60">Iswori</g> Poudyal said but did not give any details about the nationalities of the victims. He added that the remains of the victims were charred.
The exact fate of all the members onboard and the conditions under which the crash took place is not yet known and it will be followed, the Nepal Army said in its statement.
Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat tweeted: “Tragic news of crashed chopper at 11200 ft <g data-gr-id="55">Kalinchok,Dolakha</g> reported by NA.Saddened at the loss brave people at humanitarian work.”
Its disappearance had triggered intense search involving US and Nepalese aircraft and even US satellites besides hundreds of American and Nepalese ground troops.
The recovered bodies are being ferried to Kathmandu.
Local police officials say hundreds of security personnel including US Marines and locals have reached the crash site, ekantipur.com reported.
The crashed helicopter was among over a dozen US military aircraft undertaking aid operations, including two other Huey choppers and four tilt-rotor Ospreys besides cargo planes.
“The assessment of the site is ongoing and a thorough investigation will be conducted,” the US Marine-led joint task force said in a statement after they sent a separate team.
Meanwhile, five tremors today kept people on edge in Nepal, devastated by two powerful earthquakes that struck within weeks.
The death toll from Tuesday’s 7.3-magnitude temblor rose to 117. The powerful quake struck the Himalayan nation just when it had begun to rebuild itself following the devastation from the monster temblor less than three weeks ago.
A total of 227 aftershocks were recorded measuring 4 or more magnitude after the devastating April 25 earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people across Nepal.
The latest tremor with 4.5-magnitude occurred with Dolakha epicenter at 3.09 pm while at 10.51 am, a tremor with 4.0-magnitude and Dhading as its epicentre was felt, according to National Seismological Centre.
Earlier, a 5.5-magnitude tremor struck at 7.27 am with epicentre in Dhading district, 80 km west of Kathmandu. Two tremors were felt at 3.38 and 4.07 am measuring 4.1 and 4.3 on the Richter scale, both with Dolakha as <g data-gr-id="53">epicentre</g>.
Quake-hit Nepal’s reconstruction to cost over Rs 500 billion: Govt
The reconstruction of the quake-ravaged Nepal would cost over Rs 500 billion, the Finance Minister said on Friday, as he sought long-term support for bringing the country back on track.
Chairing a meeting of donor agencies, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said that the preliminary estimated cost for the reconstruction is over Rs 500 billion and works have been started by setting up a fund of Rs 200 billion for the time being.
The Finance Minister said that bringing the flagging economy back on track is very challenging since the economy was adversely affected by the April 25 earthquake that killed over 8,400 people across Nepal.
He said <g data-gr-id="88"><g data-gr-id="93">short</g> term</g> support was needed immediately to fulfill the basic needs while the <g data-gr-id="89">long term</g> support would be required for the reconstruction.
He said the government is working on a <g data-gr-id="90">long term</g> plan for the same. Over one million private and public houses and buildings have been damaged totally or partially by the April 25 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks that rattled the Himalayan nation.
Several other sectors like services industry, agriculture, tourism, health and education have also been badly hit by the quake. The Finance Minister said, “Transparency would be maintained for every rupee received in the name of relief to the earthquake victims and the amount would be audited.”
Baby girl born at Indian Army hospital named ‘Bharti’
A baby girl born at a field hospital set up in quake-hit Kathmandu by the Indian Army has been named Bharti by her mother to express her love for India.
The baby’s mother, Bhawana Sapkota Pudasaini, was initially admitted at the Kathmandu Medical college, but after the fresh quake on May 12 hit the Himalayan nation, she was was shifted to Sinamangal Indian Army Field Hospital where she delivered the girl child yesterday, army officials said.
The mother has named the baby “Bharti” to express her love and respect for India, the officials said.
The entire field hospital community celebrated the birth of the baby girl together with the members of Kathmandu Medical College.
Since the hospital was already preoccupied with earthquake victims and also because the building was not safe the doctors asked her delivery to be done at the Indian Army field hospital.