CHENGDU, June 5 (Xinhua) -- On behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao, senior military officers on Thursday paid visits to relatives of the missing people aboard the crashed helicopter in Sichuan Province.

　　Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Guo Boxiong on Thursday morning arrived at a garrison of Chengdu Military Area Command, expressing sympathy for the families of the five crew.

　　Hu, who is also the CMC chairman, had urged all-out rescue efforts to save the people on the Mi-171 chopper from the People's Liberation Army(PLA) that disappeared on May 31. He had constantly inquired about the rescue progress, Guo said.

　　The quake-relief headquarters of Chengdu Military Area Command have dispatched increasing number of troops, mobilized paramilitary personnel, expanded the area of search and deployed multiple technological means to locate the aircraft, he said.

　　Guo called the crew on board "good comrades-in-arms" and "excellent comrades."

　　He said the complicated terrain made the rescue operation rather difficult and vowed to continue the search as long as there was still a gleam of hope.

　　The senior military officer also urged the families to bravely face problems and local military authorities to solve practical difficulties for them.

　　Meanwhile, on behalf of Hu, Yang Zhiqi, PLA assistant chief of general staff, on Thursday morning flew to the epicenter Lixian County to comfort the relatives of the 14 quake victims on board the aircraft.

　　Despite more efforts on searching for the Chinese helicopter that went missing on Saturday afternoon, the possibility that the 19 people onboard might be alive was fading, according to military officers.

　　On Thursday, more than 8,000 soldiers, armed police and reservists continued to comb the areas considered possible spots to locate the ill-fated chopper. Helicopters continued to hover over the areas and techniques, including remote sensors, radars and positioning systems, were used to search for the plane.