Devastation in Nepal after second powerful earthquake

The British government has ordered the return of three RAF Chinooks sent to Nepal after they were left grounded in India for two weeks.

The helicopters were sent to assist the relief effort, but the Ministry of Defence said it was "disappointed" that they would not be used to support the distribution of aid.

It added, however, that "all decisions in relation to the relief effort are ultimately for the Government of Nepal to take".

A US military team has confirmed that wreckage found in the mountains of Nepal is that of a missing Marine helicopter.

The US Pacific Command said the crashed UH-1Y Huey chopper was found around eight miles (13km) north of Charikot town, one of the areas worst-hit by two devastating earthquakes in the past month.

Spokesman Army Major Dave Eastburn said the site was still being assessed and an investigation was underway to try to establish how the craft came down. It had been assisting in the relief operation at the time it went missing.

He did not make any comment on the fate of the six Marines and two Nepali soldiers who were on board the helicopter at the time of the crash, but officials in Nepal have said there were no survivors.

There are no survivors on board a US Marine helicopter which crashed while delivering aid in earthquake-hit Nepal, the government's top defence official has revealed.

Six Marines and two Nepali soldiers had been on board the UH1Y Huey when it lost radio contact on Tuesday. After an intensive search operation, it was spotted in the mountains near the village of Ghorthali earlier today.

Nepal Defence Secretary Ishwori Prasad Paudyal said three charred bodies had been found in the wreckage of the craft.

Three bodies have been found near the wreckage of a US Marine helicopter which went missing while on an aid mission in Nepal, according to the country's defence secretary.

The UH-1Y Huey was spotted in the mountains, near the village of Ghorthali, at an altitude of 11,200 feet, according to Major General Binoj Bashnet.

Six Marines and two Nepali soldiers were on board the chopper when it lost radio contact, after its crew was heard over the radio talking about fuel problems.

A US military spokeswoman in Kathmandu said she could not confirm or deny the discovery.

The wreckage of a missing US Marine helicopter has been spotted in the mountains of Nepal by the country's army, The Associated Press reports.

The UK1Y Huey chopper went missing on Tuesday near the village of Charikot while helping with the post-earthquake relief mission.

Six Marines and two Nepali soldiers were on board when it lost radio contact, after its crew was heard over the radio talking about fuel problems.

Nepal's Prime Minister today helped British paramedics save an injured woman by sacrificing his seat on his helicopter to her, during a visit to one of the areas worst affected by two major earthquakes.

The woman had been taken to Charikot village in Dolakha district after being hit on the head by falling debris in the most recent quake on Tuesday, which measured in at 7.3 on the Richter scale.

Her condition had deteriorated over the past two days, and she was being given oxygen by the paramedics when Prime Minister Sushil Koirala was flown in.

The paramedics revealed they had begged his aides to inform him of the woman's condition - and as soon as they relented, Koirala immediately ordered the woman be loaded onto the chopper and flown to hospital.

Koirala waited in the village for the helicopter to return and pick him up.

The death toll from the second earthquake to hit Nepal in a matter of weeks has reached 108, officials have revealed.

The number killed in Nepal in Tuesday's 7.3 magnitude tremors has risen to 91, with 17 people also killed in neighbouring India and another 2,428 injured.

It comes less than a month after a 7.8 strength quake, which left 8,000 people dead and many thousands more badly hurt.

A drone has been sent up to help in the search for a missing US Marines helicopter which disappeared while working with the post-earthquake relief effort in Nepal.

Six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers were on board the UK1Y Huey chopper when is went missing near Charikot village, following a second devastating quake in a month for the country.

The search has come under some criticism for diverting resources away from relief efforts.

A battalion of around 400 Nepali soldier, along with US, Indian and Nepali military helicopters, are also being used in the search, with infrared cameras searching for hotspots and any signs of life.

A Nepalese Home Ministry official has said he fears the ongoing rescue efforts to help people affected by Tuesday's earthquake have been delayed by the search for a missing US Marines helicopter.

Speaking after it was reported that 400 soldiers and six helicopters had joined the search for the missing chopper Laxmi Prasad Dahal told Reuters "the work of sending relief and rescuing the injured people to hospitals has been delayed due to this."

According to reports a Pentagon spokesman confirmed this evening that he has heard nothing to verify reports the helicopter had been found and said the aerial search would resume on Thursday.