MANILA (REUTERS) — At least three of the 10 American soldiers on board a U.S. special-forces helicopter which crashed in the sea in the southern Philippines Friday were killed, police said.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three bodies were washed up on a beach near the crash site in the Bohol Strait, 410 miles south of Manila.
Television stations said at least three others were believed rescued by fishermen, but there was no independent confirmation of the reports.
There was no immediate word on what happened to the others. Eight crew members and two passengers were on board the Chinook MH-47 helicopter.