Four dead in helicopter crash in quake-hit Nepal

Nepalese troops recovered four bodies after a helicopter that had been delivering relief supplies crashed Tuesday in a region devastated by twin earthquakes, the army and police said.

The aircraft from Kathmandu-based Mountain Helicopters came down in a forested area north of the capital, police said.

"The helicopter crashed at 4:30 pm (1045 GMT) in Sindhupalchowk district after it hit electricity lines, according to villagers there," said local police official Dipak Kharel.

"Our troops have reached the site and found four bodies," Major-General Binoj Basnyat told AFP.

The helicopter company's marketing director, Passang Norbu Sherpa told AFP that four people, including the pilot, were on board the aircraft and that three of the victims were Nepalese men.

"The victims include three Nepalis and one foreigner. The foreigner was a woman, we are not sure of her nationality," Sherpa said.

Relief teams from around the world have been working to provide water, food, shelter and medical assistance to Nepal since a 7.8-magnitude quake struck on April 25.

On May 12 a second major earthquake hit the country, the same day that a UH-1Y Huey helicopter came down on an aid mission in the north of the country.

Six US Marines and two Nepalese soldiers were killed.

More than 8,600 people died in the quakes, which destroyed more than half a million homes and left huge numbers of people without shelter just weeks ahead of the monsoon rains.