A military helicopter assessing damage from a powerful earthquake crashed in southern Mexico, killing 13 people and injuring 15, all of them on the ground, officials said Saturday.
The Oaxaca state prosecutor's office said in a statement that five women, four men and three children, were found dead at the site of Friday’s crash. A 13th person died later at the hospital.
Mexico's Interior Department said that the helicopter was carrying Secretary Alfonso Navarrete and Oaxaca state Gov. Alejandro Murat, who were evaluating reports of damage from the earthquake, when their helicopter crashed.
The U.S. Geological Survey originally put the magnitude of Friday's quake at 7.5 but later lowered it to 7.2.
The quake caused people to flee swaying buildings and office towers in the country's capital. There were no reports of severe damage.
Oaxaca, along with Mexico City, is still reeling from earthquakes that caused widespread damage in September and killed at least 471 people, Reuters reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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