4 dead in helicopter crash in quake-hit Nepal

Nepalese troops recovered four bodies after a helicopter which had been delivering relief supplies crashed Tuesday in a region devastated by twin earthquakes in recent weeks, the army and police said.

The aircraft from Kathmandu-based Mountain Helicopters came down in a forested area north of the capital, police said.

"The helicopter crashed at 4:30 pm in Sindhupalchowk district after it hit electricity lines, according to villagers there," said local police official Dipak Kharel.

"Our troops have reached the site and found four bodies," Major-General Binoj Basnyat told AFP.

Relief teams from around the world have been working to provide water, food, shelter and medical assistance to Nepal since a 7.8-magnitude quake struck on April 25.

On May 12 a second major earthquake hit the country, the same day that a UH-1Y Huey helicopter came down on an aid mission in the north of the country. Six US Marines and two Nepalese soldiers were killed.

More than 8,600 people died in the quakes, which destroyed more than half a million homes and left huge numbers of people without shelter with just weeks to go until the monsoon rains.