Mexican Interior Secretary Blake dies in helicopter crash

[News_Editor]

Mexican Interior Secretary Blake dies in helicopter crash

2011-11-13 05:22:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- Mexican Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora was among eight people killed on Friday when his helicopter crashed near Mexico City, officials said. The cause was not immediately known.

Blake was traveling from Mexico City to Cuernavaca in neighboring Morelos state when the aircraft went down in a remote area. Blake and the seven others on board were killed, government spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said.

"Unfortunately, the interior secretary, his staff and the helicopter crew were found dead," Sota said. She also, on behalf of President Felipe Calderón and colleagues, expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.

Among the victims were Secretary for Legal Affairs Felipe Zamora and the Interior Ministry's General Director of Social Communication José Alfredo García. Officials said they did not immediately know the cause of the crash, although some speculated it could involve weather or pilot error.

President Felipe Calderón left Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City shortly after the accident to meet with Gloria Cosío, Blake's wife, and her family. He also cancelled a trip to Hawaii where he was going to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama at a summit.

Blake, 45, took office in July 2010 and was a key figure in the war against drug cartels. His predecessor, Juan Camilo Mouriño, and several other people, died when their small plane crashed in Mexico City on November 4, 2008.

Blake's final post on Twitter remembered Mouriño. "Today we remember Juan Camilo Mouriño three years after his departure, a man who worked on building a better Mexico," he tweeted on November 4.

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