National Guard soldiers leave for Haiti on relief mission

A Nevada Army National Guard helicopter unit is heading to Haiti to help provide airlift relief following January's deadly and devastating earthquake.

Twelve soldiers from the guard's B Company, 1/189th Aviation Battalion left Tuesday morning from Carson City with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter bound for Port-au-Prince.

The mission is to move medical and relief supplies, cargo, troops and doctors and nurses around the Caribbean island nation.

The Haitian government puts the number of dead following the magnitude-7 earthquake on Jan. 12 at more than 230,000. Officials say another 1.3 million people are displaced.

The Nevada soldiers are from Reno, Dayton, Sparks, Silver Springs, Carson City and Fernley.

They could be there from 15 days to about four months, Sgt. Erick Studenicka said.