March 04, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 25, 1429

KATHMANDU, March 3: A United Nations helicopter crashed in Nepal on Monday, killing all 12 people on board, including five foreigners, officials said.

“Police have recovered 10 bodies of the 12 people on the helicopter. There were no survivors,” a home ministry spokesman said.

The United Nations said it had sent a team to inspect the remote, hilly site east of Kathmandu where the helicopter crashed in bad weather.

“UNMIN (UN Mission in Nepal) has sent a party by road to the site of the reported crash to confirm the information,” a UN spokesman said in a statement.

The UN said the helicopter was returning from a visit to a camp containing former Maoist guerrillas.

The home ministry spokesman said there were seven Nepalese and five foreigners on board the helicopter. “The government of Nepal is extremely saddened by the loss and we will undertake recovery work as soon as the weather permits,” the spokesman said, adding that the cause of the accident was unknown.

Police from remote Ramechhap district 85 kilometres east of Kathmandu, said the helicopter caught fire and crashed in heavy rain and wind.

The helicopter burned for around three hours before locals and police officers doused the flames, police said.

“Nightfall, the weather conditions and terrain are causing problems,” in the recovery operation, an official said.—AFP