Guatemalan army chief of staff Rudy Ortiz and four other military officers died Wednesday (August 20) when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region where drug traffickers operate, the government said.

The crash occurred in the Huehuetenango department on the Mexican border as the officers carried out a routine inspection of the area, where unrest has also erupted over hydroelectric dams and mining projects, said Defense Minister Manuel Lopez.

Source: ANTARA