Mexico helicopter crash kills 13 in wake of earthquake.
A military helicopter carrying officials assessing damage from a powerful earthquake crashed Friday in southern Mexico, killing 13 people, all on the ground.
Five women, four men and three children were killed at the crash site and another person died later at the hospital, the Oaxaca state prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Another 15 people were injured in the incident.
Mexico’s Interior Department said that the helicopter was carrying Secretary Alfonso Navarrete and Oaxaca state Gov. Alejandro Murat, who were evaluating damage from the earthquake, when their helicopter crashed.
The helicopter crashed on top of two vans in an open field while trying to land in Santiago Jamiltepec Friday night.
The crash happened in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which left buildings shaking and people in the southern area of the country fleeing to the streets for safety.
Some of those people, fearful an aftershock could destroy their homes, were spending the night in the open field where the chopper crashed, the Associated Press reported.
A local reporter who was on board the helicopter with officials described the moments when it crashed as "chaotic," adding it all happened as they attempted to land.
Reporter Jorge Morales said they had lost visibility and the only thing he saw was the dust rising before they landed.
