Soldiers trekked to the mountainous site in northeast India to identify bodies after the wreckage was spotted during a massive ground search.

"The crash site has been located and some bodies have been sighted," Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in New Delhi. "It is not good news."

Dorjee Khandu, a member of the ruling Congress party, was appointed in 2007 as chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, a remote state which is claimed by China.

The helicopter, which was carrying Khandu, two pilots and another passenger, lost contact with air traffic control in bad weather on Saturday morning soon after take-off.

It was travelling from the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh near the Chinese border to the state capital Itanagar.

Searches by Indian Air Force helicopters had been hampered by continuing poor weather and special satellite images had also failed to find the wreckage.

Thousands of soldiers, police and paramilitary troopers conducted searches through the difficult terrain under the helicopter's planned route, while neighbouring Bhutan has also sent out patrols.

The AS350 B-3 single-engine helicopter disappeared after another crashed in Tawang on April 19, killing 17 people and injuring six.

Both aircraft were operated by Pawan Hans, a service which provides one of the major air links across the isolated northeastern region of India.