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Sichuan, China: The search continued in China on
Monday, this time for a crashed military transport helicopter
engaging in quake relief work.
The military has deployed 1,240
troops, divided into eight groups, to undertake a blanket search of
suspected crash sites.
Meanwhile, four helicopters were
sent to conduct air searches for the crashed chopper. In addition, a
screening was going on in suspected crash sites reported by the
military and civilians, according to a source within the Chengdu
Military Area Command.
The helicopter, engaged in the
quake relief work near the quake-devastated Yingxiu township,
Wenchuan county in the southwestern Sichuan province, crashed on
Saturday afternoon.
Fourteen injured local residents
and a crew of five from the Chengdu Military Area Command were on
the Mi-171 when it crashed at 2:56 p.m., the source said.
The helicopter was returning from
a mission to carry epidemic prevention experts to Lixian county when
it crashed amid strong turbulence and fog. Since the crash site was
among the canyons surrounded by high mountains, the mission was
really arduous, the source said.
The crew, led by Senior Colonel
Qiu Guanghua, had completed 63 flights, transferring 25.8 tons of
relief materials, 87 quake relief workers and 234 victims since the
May 12 quake.
Qiu’s crew had always been
excellent in completing military missions and this time the task was
very tough. The accident occurred in very complicated terrain while
the weather was unpredictably abominable, said the military source.
--Xinhua
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