KATHMANDU, Nepal — The bodies of all eight people on board the U.S. Marine helicopter that crashed during a relief mission in earthquake-hit Nepal have been recovered, Nepal’s army said Saturday.

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

The aircraft, with six Marines and two Nepali soldiers on board, disappeared while delivering aid Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of the Marine-led joint task force, told reporters in Kathmandu on Friday that his team could not immediately determine the cause of the crash or identify the bodies found.

He 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 vanished while delivering humanitarian aid to villages hit by two deadly earthquakes.

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

The U.S. relief mission was deployed soon after a magnitude-7.8 quake struck on 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 around 2,800.

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.

U.S. military officials said earlier in the week that an Indian helicopter in the air nearby had heard radio chatter from the Huey aircraft about a possible fuel problem.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that it is urgent to get aid to all those in need before the monsoon season starts in June.


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