8 peacekeepers bodies returning home

The bodies of the eight Chinese peacekeepers who died in the Haiti earthquake are expected to arrive home in a few hours. A chartered plane carrying their remains took off from Haiti's capital airport Sunday night.

The plane should arrive in Beijing Tuesday morning. Four of the officers were part of China's peacekeeping force in Haiti. The other four were sent by the Ministry of Public Security as peacekeeping consultants. The team was meeting with UN officials inside the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in the capital of Port-au-Prince when disaster struck. The Chinese government is referring to the peacekeepers as martyrs.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of these heros.

Top Chinese leaders will meet the plane bringing the bodies at the airport for a commemorative ceremony.

CCTV-9 will be there to bring you live coverage of the event.

Chinese peacekeepers and rescuers bid farewell to the bodies of Chinese  victims in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 17, 2010. The bodies of eight  Chinese police officers who died in the Haiti quake would be brought  home by a chartered plane of China Southern Airlines. (Xinhua/Yuan Man)