Lima, Dec 9 (TIWN) As many as five Peruvian Air Force helicopter crew members who had been missing since Tuesday were found dead in Lima region, the Peruvian Air Force said.

Armed forces patrols were on Wednesday able to locate the aircraft, which had taken off at noon on Tuesday from the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima before losing contact, the air force said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.  President Pedro Castillo expressed his condolences for the death of the troops via Twitter, stating that "they gave their lives in the line of duty."  The MI-171SH helicopter lost contact near the municipality of San Mateo, about 70 km east of Lima, after which authorities began an air and ground search that was suspended due to bad weather conditions.