http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/11/world ... index.html
Mexico City (CNN) -- Mexico's interior minister, Jose Francisco Blake Mora, was killed in a helicopter crash Friday, the government said.
The helicopter went down in the Xochimilco area south of Mexico City, government spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said.
Also killed in the crash were Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and Human Rights Felipe Zamora and the ministry's press office chief, Jose Alfredo Garcia, she said. In all, nine people perished -- seven passengers and two crew members, she said. In July 2010, Mexican President Felipe Calderon appointed Blake Mora to the post that oversees security efforts against drug cartels in Mexico. That battle has cost thousands of lives. "I grieve his loss" and those of the other victims, Calderon said in a national address, saying that Blake Mora leaves behind a wife and two children. Authorities were investigating the cause of the accident. A photograph of the crash site depicts a relatively concentrated debris field. The French-manufactured Super Puma helicopter was made in 1987 and had logged 717 hours of flight, Mexican officials said. Before becoming interior minister, Blake Mora was an attorney from Baja California state who was chief of staff to the state government from 2007 until July 2010. Previously, he was a councilman in Tijuana, as well as a state and federal congressman. Charged with leading the national effort against the cartels, Blake Mora was considered to be close to the president and, in fact, led his political campaign in Baja California. The helicopter crashed while traveling between Mexico City and the Mexican state of Morelos south of the city, officials said.
Serial is reported by Mexican Ministry of Defence as TPH-06.
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