BEVERLY HILLS, February 18, (THEWILL) – The Governor of Oaxaca State in Mexico, Alejandro Murat and Mexico’s Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete, escaped death after helicopter carrying high-ranking officials to assess the damage from a powerful earthquake crashed in southern Mexico.
Mexico’s Interior Department said the officials were evaluating reports of damage from the earthquake.
The Oaxaca state prosecutor’s office said in a statement revealed that the crash resulted in the deaths of five women, four men and three children at the scene while an injured victim died later at the hospital.
A state government official said the chopper crashed into a group of people who had been spending the night outside after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the area Friday in the early evening.
Aftershocks had caused people to flee their homes for fear they would collapse.
The Defense Department said the crash happened as the Blackhawk helicopter was preparing to land on a vacant lot in the city of Jamiltepec, about 19 miles from the area of Pinotepa Nacional.
Earlier reports said the chopper crashed on top of two vans in an open field.
Both Navarrete and the defense department said they regretted the loss of life in the accident.
The same city where the accident occurred also saw significant destruction from the earthquake. About 50 homes were damaged, as well as the town hall and church, according to the Interior Department.
Two people suffered fractures and non-life threatening injuries in Pinotepa Nacional in Santiago Jamiltepec.
