Nine dead after military helicopter crashes with police chief, bank exec suspect onboard in El Salvador

A military helicopter carrying top Salvadoran police officials and a high-profile suspect in a corruption case has crashed, killing nine people, officials said Thursday.

The helicopter went down in a rural area of El Salvador's central department of Cojutepeque, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northeast of the capital, San Salvador.

Among the dead were Police Director Arriaza Chicas, Deputy Police Director Cesar Flores Murillo and National Civilian Police Director Howard Cotto, the presidency said in a statement.

Also killed was William Barriere, a top executive at the Salvadoran bank accused of embezzling $8 million from the institution's pension fund, according to the attorney general's office.

Barriere was being transported by air as part of the ongoing investigation against him

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash, but there is no evidence so far to suggest it was anything other than an accident, officials said.

The helicopter was one of two transporting a group of officials to inspect a crime scene in the area when it crashed, according to the presidency's statement.

The other helicopter landed safely, and the officials on board were unharmed, the statement said.