10 US soldiers feared dead in the Philippines

A US general has said that all 10 US soldiers on board a military helicopter which crashed in the Philippines two days ago are now believed to be dead.

Brigadier General Donald Wurster, the head of the US contingent in the Philippines, said: "We have determined that there is no chance to find survivors."

He said the rescue effort has shifted to a recovery mission at the crash site in the Bohol Sea off Negros Island.

Officials had held out hope that the missing troops could be found alive because they were all trained in water survival.