Missing chopper's wreckage found

CHENGDU: A search team yesterday located the wreckage of a military helicopter and bodies of the 18 people it was carrying 10 days after it went missing over the mountains near Yingxiu town in Sichuan province.

PLA soldiers, reservists and militia, mobilized by the Chengdu Military Command, located the bodies and the wreckage of the Mi-171 helicopter about 3,103 m above the sea level around 10:55 am yesterday, a military source said. Previous reports had said 19 people were on board.

The spot is about 7.5 km northwest of Yingxiu, which is close to the epicenter of the May 12 quake.