La Paz  - Just hours after the official presidential helicopter transported Bolivia's Evo Morales, the aircraft crashed, killing one Brazilian and four Venezuelan pilots, defence officials said Monday.

The Super Puma aircraft - provided for Morales' use by the air force of far-away, oil-rich Venezuela - crashed on Sunday on its way from Cochabamba to Cobija, about
1,200 kilometres north of the capital. The reasons for the accident had not been determined.

Bolivian Defence Minister Walker San Miguel said that Morales had been transported in the 22-passenger plane just hours before the crash, as he was travelling around in the southern region of Bolivia.

He was to have used it again on Monday.

Left-wing populist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez provided the helicopter, along with others in the same class, for domestic travel by Morales, as part of his broadening campaign to cultivate popularity in Latin America.

Just last year, another of the Venezuelan Super Puma helicopters crashed in Bolivia, killing four crew members. (dpa)