A helicopter crashed in the central Mexican state of Puebla on Friday, killing eight people aboard, including the two pilots, spokesman for the state Javier Sanchez Galicia said.

The helicopter, known as "5 de mayo", downed near the Tepango de Rodriguez municipality in so-called Sierra Negra.

The helicopter was on a mission to hand over toys to poor children in the mountainous zone, Sanchez said in Puebla, capital of Puebla state, 80 km east of Mexico City.

The victims include Patricia Rosano Maldonado, wife of Puebla's Interior Ministry Secretary Mario Montero Serrano, and Carlos Lesier Gamboa, the director of a local organization.

The other six were two pilots and four aid workers.

Official in charge of the state's interior affairs and public security rushed to the scene.
 
(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2008)