Special report: Reconstruction After Earthquake　

Soldiers carry machines onto a vehical before they set off to the spot where remains of the missing Chinese helicopter were found at Yingxiu Township, Wenchuan County in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on June 10, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The body of the last victim from a crashed quake relief helicopter in China was found after a 12-day search, military sources said Wednesday.

    Thus, the remains of all 18 people who were aboard the copter, including five crew members and 13 civilians injured in the May 12earthquake, have all been found at the crash site near the epicenter town of Yingxiu, the Sichuan military quake relief headquarters said.

    The black box voice recorder has also been found, the headquarters said.

    On Tuesday, searchers discovered the wreckage of the chopper that crashed deep in the mountains on May 31 while ferrying 13 people injured in the 8.0-magnitude quake. The wreckage was widely scattered among heavy vegetation.

    One person formerly reported as having been on board did not take the helicopter.

    More than 100 people have arrived at the crash site to clear the scene and do forensic identification.

    Photography, DNA sampling, identity confirmation and epidemic prevention have all been done on the remains, the headquarters said.

    Silent mourning was observed at the scene before the bodies were put into bags. Their shipment to the quake relief headquarters in Yingxiu would start on Thursday.

    However, the military admitted that it would be no easy task due to the complicated terrain and unstable weather conditions.

    More than 1,000 soldiers had been mobilized to carry the bodies out of the region on foot, as the site was too mountainous and the forest cover too thick to allow rescue helicopters to land.

    However, steep, densely-forested canyons and heavy rains would make the march with stretchers more difficult than people could imagine, said Zhang Peimin, an officer with the Sichuan Military Area Command.

    He said a temporary helicopter pad might still need to be built, but that wouldn't be any easier.

    The bodies might not arrive at Yingxiu until Friday or even Saturday, he said.

    About 100 helicopters had been deployed to find the Mi-171 military transport helicopter since its crash, while more than 300rescue teams comprised of 10,000 troops and local residents combed the region to search for the missing aircraft.

    Advanced technology, including remote sensing and infrared photography, was used in the search, the military said.

China finds missing helicopter, bodies of passengers, crew near quake epicenter town

    CHENGDU, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Searchers have found the remains of the missing Chinese helicopter and people on board in the mountains near the quake epicenter town Yingxiu, according to a military source here Tuesday.

    The debris of the Mi-171 helicopter was found in the bushes northwest of Yingxiu Township at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday. Militia and reservists mobilized by the Chengdu Military Area Command found the missing chopper.  Full story

Quake tests Chinese military's combat capability in peace time

    BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- After 10 days of search, remains of the missing Chinese helicopter and those aboard were found on a mountain near the epicenter Yingxiu Town on Tuesday. Full story

19 less likely to survive as more efforts put in helicopter hunt 

    CHENGDU, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Despite more efforts on searching for the Chinese helicopter that went missing on Saturday afternoon, the possibility the 19 people onboard might be alive was fading, according to the Chengdu Military Area Command. Full story

Soldiers scramble to search for downed helicopter

    DUJIANGYAN, Sichuan Province, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese soldiers were still scaling mountains and hacking their way through brambles and thorns in a desperate attempt to search for a downed military transport helicopter on Tuesday. Full story

Search continues for crashed China quake-relief helicopter

    CHENGDU, June 2 (Xinhua) -- As of Monday afternoon, Chinese rescuers were unable to locate a military helicopter that crashed during a quake- relief operation after two days of search.

    The Sichuan provincial government's information office said rescuers were continuing in their efforts to locate the chopper that crashed with 19 people aboard, including five crew. Full story

Helicopter crashes while on duty in quake zones

    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. Full Story

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