Family of Marine missing in Nepal speaks out
The search continues for the missing U.S. Marines who were in Nepal aiding the earthquake relief effort, centering around the area of Charikot, Nepal.
A U.S. Special Forces platoon and 400 Nepalese soldiers are searching on the ground, while in the air, drones are being used and satellites have been re-positioned to aid in effort, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.
Three Nepalese helicopters are flying search missions along with U.S. and Indian military aircraft, looking for the six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese soldiers who were on board a helicopter that disappeared Tuesday.
The U.S. military has been using UH-1Y or "Huey" helicopters to ferry relief supplies in Nepal.
The names of those on board have not been released, but the family of 31-year-old Capt. Christopher Norgren believes he may have been the pilot of the missing Huey.
"We were visited today by the military. We found out for certain it was Christopher's unit," mother Theresa Norgren told CBS News by phone. "We know it's down, no wreckage, they [are] still trying to find it."
Mark Bell, a family friend, choked up while speaking with CBS station KWCH in Wichita, Kansas.
"It's hard," Bell said.
"There is no doubt in my mind that he is still alive and he is still in those mountains and he is leading those men," said Alan Schuckman, Norgren's former football coach. "If I had to put my life in somebody's hands, he would be the first I would choose."
There was an emergency beacon, or line of sight beacon, on the helicopter, but it could be interrupted or disrupted by the mountains.
The U.S. military has tweeted photos of U.S. troops at work, showing they're still focused on the relief effort: delivering aid and evacuating the wounded.
Many Nepalese are sleeping outside again, petrified of aftershocks. Even patients at a Kathmandu hospital were moved outdoors.
Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said "after the first quake, we were not prepared for a second one that was so big."