Mexico: Gunmen in hotbed of drug cartel activity shoot down police helicopter, kill 4

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO - OCTOBER 14: A federal police helicopter flies over before the Opening Ceremony for the XVI Pan American Games at Omnilife Stadium on October 14, 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images) (2011 Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexican authorities say gunmen shot down a police helicopter in western Mexico, killing the pilot and three officers.

The governor of the western state of Michoacan wrote on his Twiiter account that a fourth officer was wounded.

Gov. Silvano Aureoles said the attack occurred Tuesday in a "hard-to-access" area near the Michoacan city of Apatzingan. The area has been a hotbed of drug cartel activity and was the scene of fights between the gangs and armed vigilante groups.

It was the worst death toll in an assault on a helicopter in Mexico since a May 2015 attack in the neighboring state of Jalisco. In that incident, cartel gunmen shot down an army helicopter with a rocket launcher, killing 10.

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