Five people, including the top security official for the central Mexico state of Aguascalientes, died in a helicopter crash Thursday, authorities said.
The state public security helicopter crashed early Thursday morning near a hospital in Jesús María, Aguascalientes, killing state security chief Porfirio Sánchez Mendoza and four others, Aguascalientes Gov. María Teresa Jiménez said during a news conference.
Jiménez said preliminary information suggested the crash was an accident.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Sánchez Mendoza was arrested in February when the federal Attorney General’s Office opened a case against him for alleged torture, but he was released seven months later due to a lack of evidence and returned to his job.
Copyright The Associated Press
