Nepal: 12 dead from U.N. copter crash

From Journalist Manesh Shrestha

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- The death toll from a United Nations helicopter crash in Nepal has reached 12, the government said Tuesday.

The United Nations Mission in Nepal helicopter was traveling from a camp for former Maoist rebels in east Nepal to the capital Kathmandu when it lost contact about 4 p.m. Monday (5:30 a.m. ET), the mission said.

The chopper caught fire and crashed in a mountainous region near Bhawasa, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Kathmandu.

The cause of the crash is not known, but eyewitnesses said that the helicopter started burning and crashed to the ground.

"Police rescue team found bodies of 10 of the 12 traveling on the helicopter with their faces burnt and two of them entangled in the engine with their body parts in pieces," a statement from the country's home ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Mod Raj Dotel said five of the 12 on board were Nepal citizens.

A spokesman for the United Nations mission, Kieran Dwyer, said the helicopter was carrying U.N. staff from several countries, and their identities will be released Tuesday after their families have been contacted.

The Maoist camp in Sindhuli, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) east of the capital, is one of seven across Nepal where the United Nations is monitoring the arms and armies of the former Maoist rebels, who signed a peace deal with the government more than a year ago.

There are 186 arms monitors from 41 countries working with the U.N. Mission in Nepal.

The United Nations is also helping monitor Nepal's elections, scheduled for April 10, which will decide what happens to the nearly 20,000 rebel fighters being monitored by the world organization. E-mail to a friend

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