Mechanic's body found after helicopter crashed in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The body of the missing mechanic of a helicopter from China's Antarctic exploration ship was found after an eight-day search, local police said Monday.

The Public Security Command Center of Shanghai received an emergency call around 9 a.m. Monday, saying that a body with a dark red sport sweater and blue jeans was floating near the No. 0 wharf of a port machinery company, said the border defense crew of Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

The body was 8 kilometers away from where the helicopter crashed at midday April 12, just a minute after taking off from China's Antarctic exploration ship, Xuelong.

Initial recognition by the staff from the Polar Research Institute and the helicopter's company showed that the description of the body matched the mechanic, Yang Yongchang. Yang's mobile phone was also found on the body. An autopsy is being performed to reach the final conclusion.

The wreckage of the helicopter was out of water at 10:55 p.m. of April 12, and a cockpit voice recorder was retrieved Wednesday. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Three other crew on the helicopter, including the pilot, co-pilot and a mechanic, were rescued after the crash. They have now left the hospital and are in good condition, said Zhang Guotong, head of the No. 7 People's Hospital in Shanghai.

Before the crash, Yang served in a 173-day scientific expedition to Antarctica, the longest in China's Antarctic expedition history.

The expedition team had successfully erected a new research station at Dome Argus (Dome A), the pole's highest icecap at 4,093 meters above sea level.

They left China's Zhongshan Station for home on March 9 and arrived at Shanghai on April 10.