墨西哥总统福克斯21日说，墨联邦政府公共安全部长拉蒙·马丁·韦尔塔乘坐的直升机当天中午在墨西哥中部墨西哥州上空坠毁，包括韦尔塔在内的9人全部遇难。

    据报道，韦尔塔一行当天乘坐这架直升机从首都墨西哥城的一座军事基地前往墨西哥州的一所监狱参加活动。但起飞后不久，直升机就与地面失去了联系。目前救援人员已经找到了直升机的残骸，但事故原因尚不清楚。

    除韦尔塔以外，这架直升机上还载有墨联邦警察总监等6名官员和2名飞行员。

    Mexican Public Security Minister Martin Huerta and several other senior officials have been confirmed dead as a result of a helicopter crash in mountains near the capital on Wednesday.

    At his residence of Los Pinos on Wednesday evening, Mexican President Vicente Fox announced the deaths of Huerta, Federal Police Commander Tomas Valencia and several other top officials in the crash of the helicopter that took them from Mexico City to the high-security prison of La Palma, in Mexico state.

    Rescue workers found the burned wreckage of Huerta's aircraft six hours after contact was lost during the flight. The helicopter took off from a military parade grounds and was headed to La Palmaprison, west of Mexico City, which holds several of Mexico's most feared drug capos, a Fox's spokesman said.

    Helicopters search a missing helicopter in the Marqueza hills, Mexico, September 21, 2005. He said the Bell 412 helicopter carrying Huerta and other officials had crashed in a "terrible accident" but gave no reason for the crash.