A military helicopter carrying officials including the Mexican interior minister has crashed in south-western Mexico, killing 13 people and injuring 15.
The accident happened as the chopper was assessing damage from a powerful earthquake in the region. Neither the minister nor officials on board the Blackhawk helicopter was killed.
All of the dead were hit by the chopper on the ground as the pilot struggled frantically to perform an emergency landing and it crashed into them.
It was a scene of destruction at the crash site on Saturday in south-western Mexico
The possessions of those killed were left strewn over a wide area
Troops secured the crash site – none of the officials on board the helicopter was killed
The crash is reported to have happened as the pilot struggled frantically to perform an emergency landing
Patients outside the General Hospital in Veracruz, Mexico, after they were evacuated following a powerful quake
The Oaxaca state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that five women, four men and three children were killed at the crash site and another person died later at the hospital.
A state government official said those killed were people who had been spending the night in an open field after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the area. Aftershocks had caused people to flee their homes for fear they would collapse.
The Defense Department said the Blackhawk helicopter was preparing to land on a vacant lot in the city of Jamiltepec. It was reported to have crashed on top of two vans in a field while trying to land not far from the epicentre, near the town of Pinotepa de Don Luis.
The craft was carrying Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete and Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat who were flying to the area to assess quake damage. Neither of them had serious injuries.
A local reporter, who was aboard the helicopter when it crashed, described harrowing moments as the pilot lost control and the helicopter attempted to land in a swirl of dust.
‘The moment the helicopter touched down it lost control… it skidded and hit some vehicles that were stationed in the area,’ he said.
‘In that moment, you couldn’t see anything, nothing else was heard beside the sound that iron makes when it scrapes the earth.’
The helicopter – carrying Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete and Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat – landed on top of a van at the site of the crash
The 7.2-magnitude quake’s epicentre was in Oaxaca but it shook buildings in Mexico City, 217 miles away
A local reporter, who was aboard the helicopter when it crashed, described harrowing moments as the pilot lost control and the helicopter attempted to land in a swirl of dust
The visiting officials were assessing quake damage when the tragedy happened
Makeshift have been set up in Jamiltepec to treat quake victims
The US Geological Survey originally put the magnitude of Friday’s quake at 7.5 but later lowered it to 7.2. It said the epicentre was 33 miles north-east of Pinotepa in southern Oaxaca state, and had a depth of 15 miles.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said via Twitter that both officials and crew were unhurt, although the interior department said that they had light injuries.
The 7.2-magnitude quake’s epicentre was in Oaxaca but it shook buildings in Mexico City, 217 miles away.
Mexico is in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world.