OAXACA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) – Two Mexican lawmakers and an elected mayor died in a small plane crash on Friday in Oaxaca state, officials said.

Lawmakers Guillermo Zavaleta Rojas, Juan Huerta Moreno, and the elected mayor of Santa Catarina Juquila, Joaquin Cortes died when their small plane crashed near Huatulco, a resort in the Mexican Pacific coast.

Both lawmakers were members of the ruling National Action Party. Zavaleta, a lawyer, was a born in Santa Catarina Juquila. He was expected to be named as part of the new Oaxaca governor's administration.

The plane departed from the Toluca airport in the state of Mexico at 8:30 a.m. local time. It crashed around 11:00 a.m. between Santa Maria Huatulco and Bahias de Huatulco where they were to attend a training course for representatives.

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