Mexico City: Mexican Secretary of the Interior Francisco Blake Mora, the No 2 official in the country, died on Friday in a helicopter crash at age 45, according to President Felipe Calderon's office.
Spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said Blake Mora died when a helicopter he was riding in crashed in Morelos state, just outside of Mexico City.
Blake Mora started his political career in the mid-1990s as an official in his native Tijuana and served as a federal congressman through the 2000s.
Calderon appointed him as interior secretary in July 2010.
It was not clear what caused the crash.
Mexico is locked in a brutal conflict against drug cartels that has killed 45,000 people in the last five years.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 00:16