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Mexico helicopter crash kills 13 in wake of earthquake

Soldiers of the Mexican army walk in front of the military helicopter and van in Santiago Jamiltepec, Mexico, on Feb. 17, 2018.

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. 

He told local media the helicopter felt like it slipped and he could hear the metal scraping as the aircraft crashed on a van, adding it was "horrible." 

Photos from the incident show the camouflage-patterned helicopter on its side, a white and red van crushed beneath it. Chairs, what appear to be pillows and sheets and other debris litter the ground. 

More:Mexico struck by massive 7.2-magnitude earthquake

The epicenter of the earthquake found along the Pacific coast near Santiago Ixtayutla, a town in the state of Oaxaca in the southwestern area of the country. 

The country frequents earthquakes but escaped widespread damage Friday. 

About 50 buildings suffered significant damage and others lost power for several hours, but the aftermath was nothing close to the back-to-back earthquakes last year. 

More than 90 people died after the first earthquake on Sept. 7, then days later on Sept. 19, another disaster struck in Central Mexico. Several hundred were left dead. 

The second tragedy landed on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, which left an estimated 9,500 people dead. 

 

 

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