Strong earthquake shakes Mexico, minister's helicopter crashes

Patients and staff remain outside the regional hospital during a powerful earthquake in Veracruz, Mexico on February 16, 2018. Mexico's National Seismological Service put the magnitude of the quake at 7.0, and seismic monitor network Sky Alert said the quake was felt across the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla. / AFP PHOTO /

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Mexico Friday, causing little damage but triggering a tragedy when a minister's helicopter crash-landed on the way to the epicenter, killing two people on the ground.

The military helicopter was carrying Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete and Oaxaca state Governor Alejandro Murat, who were unharmed, said President Enrique Pena Nieto. "Unfortunately, multiple people on the ground lost their lives and others were injured," he wrote on Twitter, sending his condolences to the families.