Ecuador's first female defence minister has died in a collision of two helicopters.
The crash in the port city of Manta killed Guadalupe Larriva (50); her daughter, Claudia Avila (17); and five officials.
Vice President Lenin Moreno said the helicopters were performing a night flight test "and in a bad manoeuvre it appears that the blades collided and the helicopters fell to the ground".
The crash took place near the military base in Manta, 160 miles southeast of the capital of Quito.
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The pilots were also killed.
Ms Larriva was appointed by President Rafael Correa, and both took office on January 15th. In addition to being the first female defence chief, she also was the first to have never served in the military.