UN recovers remains of all eight people aboard crashed peacekeeping helicopter in DRC

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The bodies of eight UN peacekeepers aboard a helicopter that crashed earlier Tuesday in North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been recovered, said the world body.

"With deep sadness, we confirm that there are no survivors among the eight peacekeepers who were on board the helicopter that went missing and crashed earlier today in North Kivu," said the UN secretary-general's press office.

A search-and-rescue operation was undertaken and the bodies of the deceased peacekeepers have been brought to Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

"We convey our condolences to the governments and families of the six crew members from Pakistan and the two military staff from Russia and Serbia," said the press office.

An investigation into the circumstances of the crash is under way, it said.

The medium-sized Puma aircraft was on a reconnaissance operation for the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC known by its French acronym as MONUSCO. The helicopter crashed near Tshanzu, southeast of Rutshuru in North Kivu. There have been clashes in the area between the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group and Congolese government forces in recent days, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, earlier Tuesday.

The DRC military said Tuesday that the UN helicopter was shot down by M23 rebels. But the United Nations has yet to confirm the claim.

Bintou Keita, head of MONUSCO, who briefed the Security Council on Tuesday on the situation in the DRC, said the past three months have seen an alarming increase in M23 activities in North Kivu. On Monday, elements of the rebel group conducted "horrific attacks" targeting civilians in localities near Rutshuru.

Only three months into this year, MONUSCO documented nearly 2,300 civilian deaths in the eastern part of the DRC, she said.