Photo taken on May 16, 2008 shows that a
Mi-171 transport helicopter is ready to transport people from quake-hit
Maoxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, to a safe place. A
Mi-171 transport helicopter engaging in quake relief work near the Yingxiu
Township, Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province crashed on
Saturday afternoon, according to military sources.(Xinhua/Li
Gang) Photo
Gallery>>>
CHENGDU, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A military transport
helicopter engaging in quake relief work near the Yingxiu Township, Wenchuan
County in Southwest China's Sichuan Province crashed on Saturday afternoon,
according to military sources.
A crew of five and 14 injured local residents were on
board for transfer when the Mi-171 helicopter with the quake relief troops of
the Chengdu Military Area Command crashed at 2:56 p.m., the military sources
said.
The helicopter was returning from a mission to carry
epidemic prevention experts to Lixian county when it encountered strong
turbulence and fog and crashed.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, also General Secretary
of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Central
Military Commission, has instructed local authorities to carry out search and
rescue operations immediately.
Hu, who is overseeing quake relief operations in
Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, has also instructed vice chairman of the Central
Military Commission Guo Boxiong to fly to front line to direct relevant
operations.
Guo is en route to Sichuan, and the Chengdu Military
Area Command is already carrying out search and rescue operations.
By 7:00 p.m. Sunday, the helicopter was still missing
and no person on the helicopter had been found.
Since the crashing site was among the canyons
surrounded by high mountains, the mission was really arduous, the military
sources said.
More than 2,500 soldiers were sent to the site for
the search and rescue operations.
The five-member crew, led by Qiu Guanghua, has
completed 63 flights, transferring 25.8 tons of relief materials and 234 victims
since the May 12 quake jolted southwest China's Sichuan province.
Chinese military officers discuss a plan
for the searching of the crashed helicopter at Fenghuangshan airport in
Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 1, 2008. A
military transport helicopter engaging in quake relief work near the
Yingxiu Township, Wenchuan County in Southwest China's Sichuan Province
crashed on Saturday afternoon, according to military sources.(Xinhua/Li
Gang) Photo
Gallery>>>
