Guatemalan minister killed in helicopter crash

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Vinicio Gómez, the Guatemalan Interior Minister and Édgar Hernández Umaña, the deputy Interior Minister, were yesterday killed in a helicopter crash, according to government officials. The helicopter lost contact at 19:08 UTC yesterday, and as a result, this is believed to be the time that the accident occurred.

A spokesperson for the Guatemalan government said that the accident was caused by bad weather. They also stated, one their official website, that the incident occurred at a point 42 miles away from La Aurora International Airport, the country's major international airport.

A spokesperson for the Guatemalan government highlighted the official response to the events. "The government is distraught and regrets the death of a key minister, who had done good work in a few months in office," he said.

"The Mexican government is already lending its support. It has put a plane at the president's disposal to take him from Villahermosa to Guatemala tomorrow," continued Fernando Barrillas, the spokesperson.

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!

Sources

"Guatemala minister dies in crash" — BBC News Online, June 28, 2008
"Guatemala ministers killed in crash" — Al Jazerra, June 28, 2008
"Guatemala official dies in helicopter crash" — Associated Press, June 28, 2008
Reuters. "Guatemalan minister dies in helicopter crash" — International Herald Tribune, June 28, 2008
"Se accidenta helicóptero en que viajaban funcionarios del Ministerio de Gobernación" — Guatemalan Government, June 27, 2008 (Spanish)

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.