All five bodies found in military chopper crash in Thai North

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND, August 15 (TNA) - All five bodies have already been found following a military helicopter crash in the Thai North on August 14. Major General Kosol Prathumchat, Commander of the 33rd Army Circle, confirmed that all the five bodies aboard the ill-fated army chopper were found on Monday afternoon near the wreckage. Lieutenant General Somsak Nilbancherdkul, Commanding General of the 3rd Army Area Command, said that rescue officers first retrieved the bodies of three officers near the wreckage of the army helicopter found earlier, including the body of Major General Nopporn Ruanchan, Commander of the 4th Infantry Division. According to the 3rd army area commander, an autopsy of the bodies is legally-needed before their funeral events. The ill-fated army helicopter, carrying the five officers including Major General Nopporn, two pilots and two mechanics, disappeared in Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai, after completing a flood relief operation in neighboring Mae Hong Son Province. Major General Nopporn, who was also the chief of the Naresuan Task Force in charge of overseeing the northern border and used to be the deputy commander of Yala special taskforce in the violence–plagued Far South, always traveled to inspect local areas by himself and was praised for his dedication to his work. (TNA)