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CHENGDU, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The search continued in China on Monday
for a crashed military transport helicopter engaging in quake relief
work.
As of 9 p.m. Monday, the helicopter was still missing and no one
onboard has been found. More than 10,000 soldiers and local
residents have joined the hunt.
"The current priority is to search the helicopter and the people
onboard by any means," said Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of the
Central Military Commission, at an emergency meeting for the search
and rescue mission.
Meanwhile, Guo stressed that the search team should ensure their own
safety while doing the search work.
The military has deployed 1,240 troopers, divided into eight groups,
to undertake a blanket search of suspected crash sites.
On Monday 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 encountered strong
turbulence and fog and crashed.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, also General Secretary of the Communist
Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Central
Military Commission, instructed local authorities to carryout search
and rescue operations immediately after hearing the news.
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.
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