BUENOS AIRES, July 29 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter crashed on Wednesday in Argentina's western province of San Juan, killing all seven people on board.

The helicopter, a Bell 412, lost contact with ground control at around 10:26 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

It had been leased by Argentina's Federal Emergency Management Agency and was scheduled to travel to the western province of La Rioja to carry out forest firefighting operations after completing a training exercise in San Juan province.

Another helicopter was subsequently dispatched and located the wreckage.

The governor of San Juan province later confirmed that all seven on board had died, including the province's director of civil defense, fire chief, and deputy police chief.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. ■