Authorities have arrested four people in connection with a 2018 helicopter crash that killed five people, including the governor of Puebla.

All four were employees of Rotor Flight Services, a company that provided maintenance to the Agusta A-109 aircraft, which crashed near the city of Puebla shortly after takeoff on Christmas Eve 2018.

Among the passengers were then-governor Martha Érika Alonso and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle, who preceded his wife as governor and was a senator at the time of the accident. Alonso had been sworn in as governor just 10 days before the accident in an election that was disputed by the Morena party, which alleged electoral fraud.

The crash raised suspicions of sabotage but a federal investigation concluded earlier this year that there was no evidence of sabotage but there were two loose screws in the rotor’s linear actuator, which caused the helicopter to roll unexpectedly.

The four suspects are under investigation for homicide and making false statements. The arrests were made in Mexico City, México state, Hidalgo and Puebla.

Source: Animal Político (sp)