MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican officials say a husband-and-wife political power couple who were the current and ex-governors of Puebla state have died in what local media report was an aircraft crash on Christmas Eve.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has expressed his "deepest condolences" via Twitter to the family of Puebla Gov. Martha Erika Alonso and ex-Gov. Rafael Moreno Valle.

National Action Party president Marko Cortes tweets that he deeply regrets Monday's accident in which they died. Both belonged to National Action.

Alonso took office as governor less than two weeks ago. Moreno Valle governed the central state from 2011 to 2017 and was currently a federal senator.

The Reforma newspaper reported that the small aircraft took off from Puebla's eponymous capital city and crashed in Huejotzingo, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away.