Guatemalan minister dies in helicopter crash

Guatemala's interior minister died when a helicopter crashed on Friday in bad weather north of the Guatemalan capital, officials said.

All four people on board were killed, including Interior Minister Vinicio Gomez, Guatemala's presidential spokesman Fernando Barillas told reporters.

"Bad weather caused the accident," he said.

Barillas initially reported that Gomez had been aboard a small plane, but Vice President Rafael Espada later said it was a helicopter that had gone down.

The helicopter was travelling to Guatemala City from the northern jungle region of Peten, Espada said.

Deputy interior minister, Edgar Umana, also died in the crash, as did the pilot and co-pilot, Barillas said.

President Alvaro Colom was in Mexico for a regional summit. Espada said he would return to Guatemala on Saturday.