MEXICO CITY, July 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Fourteen people were killed when a military helicopter crashed on Friday in northwestern Mexico, the navy said.
“A Black Hawk helicopter was involved in an accident, the cause of which is unknown at this time,” a statement said.
It said the aircraft was carrying 15 people and the sole survivor was receiving medical treatment after the crash in the state of Sinaloa.
The helicopter went down while carrying out unspecified operational activities, according to the statement, adding that an investigation would be carried out into the cause.
The navy “mourns the death of those who lost their lives in this accident — naval personnel, who in life showed their service and dedication to the nation,” it said.
The crash was not believed to be linked to the capture Friday of a notorious drug kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero wanted by the United States for the murder of a US undercover agent, the navy said. He was detained by Mexican marines in the town of Choix in Sinaloa.
Quintero is accused by the United States of ordering the kidnap, torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.
He was arrested that year, tried in Mexico and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
But in 2013, a Mexican court ordered Caro Quintero’s release on a legal technicality after he served 28 years.
The decision was overturned by Mexico’s supreme court, but Quintero had already gone into hiding.
Caro Quintero has a $20 million bounty on his head and was described by the FBI as “extremely dangerous.”
He is accused of co-founding the Guadalajara drug cartel and currently runs an arm of the infamous Sinaloa cartel, according to the DEA.
Last year a Mexican court ruled that Caro Quintero could be extradited to the United States if caught, rejecting an appeal from his lawyers who argued that he had already been tried in a Mexican court. — NNN-AGENCIES
