PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - A helicopter crashed into a building in a busy central district of Panama City on Thursday, killing Chile's federal police chief and several other people.
Police chief Gen. Jose Alejandro Bernales, identified bythe Chilean Foreign Ministry, was one of two senior securitypersonnel from Chile travelling in the helicopter when itslammed into a store, breaking in half with the impact andsetting the building on fire.
The Chileans were in Panama for an anti-terrorismconference, Panama City Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro told Reutersat the scene.
Two police officers said at least five people were killedin the crash, in which the back end of the helicopter was tornoff and landed on top of a nearby office building.
A Reuters reporter at the scene saw body parts on theground as the building burned.
The Chilean Foreign Ministry said six people were confirmeddead, including Bernales.
A witness who was driving by at the time of the crash saidthe helicopter exploded when it hit the building.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Apoliceman identified the helicopter as an aging model from thelate 1960s.
(Reporting by Andrew Beatty; additional reporting by MonicaVargas; writing by Mica Rosenberg; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
