Rescuers narrow search for missing helicopter

By Yang Jian  |   2008-6-6  |     ONLINE EDITION

A RESCUE TEAM has narrowed the search for a missing helicopter that is believed to have crashed in the mountains of Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province.

The search for the 19 people onboard, including 5 crew members, was narrowed to a 5-square-kilometer area in a valley northeast of Wenchuan, a Wuhan-based newspaper reported today.

The helicopter went missing on Saturday afternoon, the report said.

A laser scanning sensor on Wednesday found a "high concentration" of metal materials in a valley near Xuankou Town, the Yangtze River Daily said.

The sensor, with a value of 11 million yuan (US$1.57 million), was borrowed from the Wuhan University on Wednesday. Rescuers installed the sensor onto an aircraft and scanned the area.

Rescuers also used a high definition digital camera from the university to take pictures within the tightened search area yesterday afternoon. Ten experts from the university were analyzing the pictures, said the report.

About 10,000 soldiers, paramilitary personnel and even residents have been scrambling through the steep mountains, dense bush and slippery paths in a "blanket search." Remote sensing planes, powered parachute aircraft and amphibious vehicles have also been deployed to find the helicopter

The Chengdu Military Area Command said on Wednesday that the possibility of finding the 19 people alive was fading, a previous Xinhua report said.

The helicopter went missing as the crew, led by Senior Colonel Qiu Guanghua, was undertaking its 64th flight mission since the May 12 earthquake.