Colom cancelled attendance at a summit in Mexico following the news [AFP]

Authorities said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Juan Luis Florido, the Guatemalan attorney general, said the search for the victims would intensify on Saturday, as officials had not yet been able to reach the crash site.

The helicopter, which was flying the government officials to a regional security meeting, went down on Friday in Purulha, in the central part of the country.

Alvaro Colom, Guatemala's president, canceled attendance at Saturday's Mexico-Central American summit in Villahermosa, Mexico, because of the minister's death, his spokesman said.

Fernando Barrillas, the spokesman, said: "The Mexican government is already lending its support. It has put a plane at the president's disposal to take him from Villahermosa to Guatemala tomorrow."

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