Mexican state security chief is among the five dead in helicopter crash

CDMX | The state security chief of the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes was among the five people who died in a helicopter crash, according to the state’s governor.

“We deeply regret the death of these five men,” Aguascalientes Governor Teresa Jiménez said in a press conference Thursday, who extended her condolences to the bereaved.

Among the dead in the Eagle 1 helicopter crash, which belonged to Aguascalientes state’s secretariat of public security, is Porfirio Sánchez Mendoza, the Aguascalientes security chief. The other four include the helicopter’s pilot, one captain, and two gunners, according to Jiménez.

Jiménez said investigations into the cause of the incident had begun but added that “everything indicates” an accident, and that she would share more details upon completion of the investigation.

Jiménez also highlighted the “heroic” actions taken by the pilot who crash-landed the helicopter in an empty lot instead of a populated area.

Images from the crash showed the smoldering remains of the helicopter and police cars around a grassy area.

In 2018, a military helicopter carrying officials surveying earthquake damage crashed in the southeastern Mexican state of Oaxaca, killing more than a dozen people. (CNN)