Thousands of soldiers are pledging to continue scaling mountains and hacking their way through brambles and thorns, as long as there is any hope of locating a missing helicopter in Sichuan Province. The search got underway again at daybreak on Wednesday.
Helicopters are continuing to search the mountainous terrain below for the chopper, which is believed to have crashed. (Photo: scol.com.cn)
Helicopters are continuing to search the mountainous terrain below for the chopper, which is believed to have crashed.
Yunhua mountain is more than 10 kilometers from Dujiangyan. Dozens of soldiers have ascended the mountain, searching for the Mi-171 chopper from the People's Liberation Army that disappeared last Saturday.
Meanwhile, troops from the Jinan Military Area Command have been combing the area in southwest China's quake zone. The army began a "blanket search" in the area at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, but so far, nothing has been found.
Steep mountains, dense bush and slippery tracks are making the search difficult. Soldiers help each other over the rugged terrain to prevent falling down on the slippery ground.
Large landslides are also hampering the search.
During an emergency meeting, the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong, urged the troops to do their best to locate the missing helicopter.
The Rescue Mission Headquarters said that as of Monday night -- 10,822 soldiers and paramilitary personnel had joined the search. The hunt for the missing chopper covers Yingxiu Township and Heishui Township in Aba Prefecture.
On Sunday afternoon, sunlight was reported glistening on an object on Zhaogong Mountain, in Yingxiu Township, near the epicenter of the May 12 earthquake.
Authorities mobilized local residents and troops to search the area in three different directions. But nothing was found.
Villagers have been alerted to report anything out of the ordinary.
On Sunday evening, villagers reported hearing explosions in Maxi near Dujiangyan. But another search turned up nothing.
The military rescue headquarters says it will continue its searches of the region.
(CCTV June 4, 2008)