MEXICO CITY, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter carrying Mexico's interior minister and the governor of Oaxaca state crashed on Friday, killing at least two people on the ground, according to officials on board.

The accident occurred Friday night shortly before the helicopter's landing at Pinotepa Nacional, a coastal town 11 km south of the epicenter of a 7.2-magnitude quake which had jolted Oaxaca state Friday afternoon.

Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete, who survived the crash along with Alejandro Murat, the governor of Oaxaca state, told local press that the helicopter crashed after the pilots "apparently lost control of the aircraft."

The minister and governor were on a tour to survey the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked the southern and central states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, Michoacan and Mexico City.