Nepal quake: Death toll rises; US chopper still missing

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Source: NPR

mergency officials in Nepal say at least 76 people have died in Tuesday's earthquake, which hit as the small country is still coping with a prior quake that killed more than 8,000. A U.S. Marine helicopter that had been aiding relief efforts remains missing.

On April 25, a magnitude-7.8 temblor devastated swaths of Nepal. The most recent quake was measured at 7.3, followed by a 6.3 quake half an hour later. Aftershocks continued to strike Wednesday, including at least two that hit shortly after noon, each around magnitude-5.

The American UH-1Y Huey helicopter went missing Tuesday morning local time in a remote mountainous region near Charikot, Nepal, where it had been delivering humanitarian aid. Six Marines and two Nepali soldiers were aboard. Unconfirmed reports suggested the aircraft might have been having fuel problems.

The search for the helicopter has included at least nine flights by two Hueys from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 and two Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262, according to a release from the U.S. joint task force in Nepal.

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Read more: http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/05/13/51664/nepal-quake-death-toll-rises-us-chopper-still-miss/

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1. Day 2 of search for Marine helo in Nepal

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/13/marine-missing-helicopter-search-day2/

Day 2 of search for Marine helo in Nepal
'Giving up is not an option,' U.S. military official says
By Jeanette Steele6:20 p.m.May 13, 2015

As the second full day of searching began in Nepal, a U.S. military spokesman said they remain optimistic that a missing Camp Pendleton helicopter and the six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese troops aboard will be found.

As evening hit San Diego on Wednesday, four Marine Corps search aircraft were spinning up in Kathmandu to launch, said Maj. Dave Eastburn, spokesman for U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii.

“Giving up is not an option,” Eastburn said. “We are exhausting all of our resources. Our No. 1 priority is to get our guys home.”

The UH-1Y Huey from Pendleton’s Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 went missing Tuesday afternoon as it was dropping off supplies to earthquake victims near Charikot, Nepal.

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