MEXICO CITY (AP):

Mexico appeared yester-day to have escaped major destruction after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rattled the country, but it rekindled fears in a population that still sees daily reminders of deadly earthquakes that struck five months ago.

The Interior Department said in a statement that 50 homes suffered significant structural damage along with other damage to a city hall and a church.

The national electricity commission said nearly one million users lost power, but it was expected to be restored over the course of yesterday.

But a military helicopter carrying officials assessing damage from the quake crashed in the country's south late last Friday, killing 13 people and injuring 15, all of them on the ground.

The Oaxaca state prosecutor's office said in a statement that five women, four men and three children were killed at the crash site and another person died later at the hospital.

A state government official who was not authorised to be quoted by name said the chopper crashed into a group of people who had been spending the night in an open field, fearful of returning to their homes as aftershocks continued to shake the terrain hours later.