Mexico governor and husband killed in helicopter crash
Martha Erika Alonso took office as governor less than two weeks ago.
A husband-and-wife political power couple who were the current and ex-governors of Puebla in Mexico have died in a helicopter crash on Christmas Eve, officials said.
Mexico’s political class was stunned by the deaths of governor Martha Erika Alonso and ex-governor Rafael Moreno Valle, a prominent figure in the opposition National Action Party who had vied unsuccessfully for the party’s presidential nomination and its internal leadership.
Two pilots and a third passenger also died.
The Agusta 109 helicopter fell about 10 minutes after taking off from a heliport within the city of Puebla on a flight to Mexico City.
It crashed in the municipality of Santa Maria Coronango, which is about 3.5 miles north of the city’s main airport on the western outskirts, federal Public Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo told a news conference.
Images of the crash showed a shattered, still smouldering aircraft on the edge of a scorched patch of cornfield.
Both federal and state officials said they had opened investigations into the cause.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Morena party had challenged the validity of Ms Alonso’s election in July. She was sworn in 10 days ago after independent electoral authorities dismissed the challenge.
State spokesman Maximiliano Cortazar demanded a “transparent, impartial and independent” investigation.
Marko Cortes, president of the couple’s National Action Party, tweeted his condolences after the fatal accident.
Ms Alonso took office as governor less than two weeks ago.
Mr Obrador expressed his “deepest condolences” via Twitter to the family on Monday evening.
Mr Moreno Valle governed the central state from 2011 to 2017 and was currently a federal senator.
Government agencies and scores of officials, including former President Enrique Pena Nieto, also expressed condolences via statements and social media.
