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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Lee Bullen & Graeme Murray

Helicopter plummets to ground in Mexico before exploding in fireball killing five

A helicopter has plummeted to the ground killing a security chief and four others in a huge fireball.

A Mexican security official was among those who died in the tragedy.

Porfirio Sánchez Mendoza, secretary of security for the Mexican state of Aguascalientes, died along with four other victims, two captains and two gunners.

The crash happened in the municipality of Jesús María yesterday morning.

The Eagle 1 Helicopter, which belongs to the Aguascalientes Secretariat of Public Security, crash landed in a field, killing all five people onboard.

Video footage shows the helicopter plummeting nose-first to the ground before exploding in a huge fireball.

Other images show the flaming wreckage in the field as the emergency services deal with the aftermath.

The helicopter plummets nose-first straight to the ground (Jam Press Vid)

First responders from various Federal, State and Municipal authorities arrived on the scene to deal with the wreckage and the victim’s bodies.

State Governor Teresa Jimenez Esquivel, 38, confirmed the cause of the accident is ongoing, stating that there is no indication of foul play at the current time.

The governor also extended her condolences to the victims’ families, adding: “We deeply regret the death of these five men.”

The flaming wreck of the helicopter (Jam Press Vid)

Jimenez Esquivel stated that “everything indicates” it was an accident and promised to share further information after the investigation has been carried out.

After the crash, the deceased pilot was praised for managing to crash-land in a vacant plot far from populated areas.

At the moment, the cause of the crash is unknown and the investigation continues.

The Mirror reported on another helicopter crash last month when the aircraft landed in front garden of home after spiralling out of control.

Porfirio Sánchez Mendoza was among those killed in the tragedy (Jam Press Vid)

Footage was captured on a doorbell camera in California at around 10am on Saturday.

The helicopter can be seen dropping out of the sky and crashing into a nearby palm tree as a car miraculously avoids the crash.

Fortunately, the pilot and the single passenger survived the terrifying crash and came away unscathed.

Dozens of concerned neighbours made their way out to the devastating crash to check on the pilot and passenger.

The pilot of the Bell 20GB chopper was a 47-year-old man and the passenger was a 33-year-old man.

The explosion could be seen for miles as flames emerged from the wreckage (Jam Press Vid)

The pair managed to walk free from the helicopter crash and were found talking and breathing, according to police.

They were taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries and were later released that day.

Police said the pilot was operating a test flight with the helicopter normally used for geological surveys.

However, before the frightening crash the duo claimed there was a loud popping sound just before the chopper started to fall.

Remarkably, the helicopter crashed into a tree and managed to avoid the houses in front.

The scene of the helicopter crash was probed by investigators (Jam Press Vid)

Police believe if the tree wasn't there the helicopter could have crashed into nearby houses and the fallout could have been even more horrific.

None of the neighbours and residents were injured following the impact of the crash.

Authorities are still investigating how the crash happened and cops believe the chopper hit one of the houses on its side - before crashing into the palm tree and to the ground.

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