Key Mexico minister killed in helicopter crash

Mexican Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora, a key figure in the countrys bitter war on drug cartels, died in a helicopter crash near Mexico City on Friday, along with seven others.Unfortunately the interior secretary, his collaborators and the helicopter crew were found dead, government spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said in a televised address.Blake, 45, was the second interior secretary to die in an air accident during the presidency of Felipe Calderon, after Juan Camilo Mourino died in a small plane crash in Mexico City three years ago.Blake and his colleagues had been traveling from Mexico City to Cuernavaca, in the neighbouring state of Morelos, Sota said. Media reports said Blake had been heading to a meeting of prosecutors.A search began after the helicopter disappeared from its projected route, and authorities have now started a probe into the circumstances of the accident, she added.TV pictures showed the wreckage of a helicopter in a wooded, mountainous area, with several other choppers on the ground nearby.Calderon, whose presidency has been defined by a controversial military crackdown on the countrys drug gangs involving tens of thousands of troops, met with Blakes wife Friday.The other victims were three government officials, including deputy minister Felipe Zamora, and the helicopter crew.