A military helicopter carrying top level officials for assessing damage from a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake crashed in Southern Mexico killing 14 people and injuring 21, all of them on the ground.
Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete, Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat and everybody else aboard the helicopter survived with only minor injuries, officials said.
The Defence Department said the Blackhawk helicopter suffered the mishap when it was preparing to land on a vacant lot in the city of Jamiltepec, about 19 miles from the area of Pinotepa Nacional.
The helicopter flipped and fell on top of the townspeople as it attempted to land.
The frightened survivors of the powerful earthquake had taken shelter in a field however, unexpected crisis hit them as the military helicopter fell from the sky. Aftershocks had caused people to flee their homes for fear they would collapse.
Fourteen people on the ground died and least 21 people were injured, according to the state prosecutor’s office in Oaxaca, where the crash took place. The dead include at least three children.
Mexican people were furious about the crash complaining why the helicopter would try to land in a darkened field.
