MADRID, Dec 1: Spanish opposition leader Mariano Rajoy escaped with minor injuries from a dramatic helicopter crash on Thursday. Mr Rajoy, 50, head of the conservative Popular Party, was taken to a hospital with a broken finger after the crash at the town of Mostoles, near Madrid.

The head of the Madrid regional government, Esperanza Aguirre, was also on board but emerged unscathed.

“We could have been killed but I am in perfect shape,” Mr Aguirre, a senior Popular Party member, told state radio.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, on a visit to Rome, said he had talked to Mr Rajoy, who told him he was well, although it had been a ‘difficult moment’.

“I saw the pictures (of the crash) and I think we can be thankful because the consequences were minimal,” Mr Zapatero told a news conference.

Mostoles Mayor Esteban Parro, a television cameraman and a policeman who were on board were also taken to hospital, but had no serious injuries, the hospital official said.

Mr Rajoy’s delegation had visited a police station in Mostoles before getting on the helicopter to tour the area.

CNN+ television showed dramatic footage of the helicopter taking off from Mostoles bull ring, then spinning around as it gained height to get over the bull ring’s outer wall.

The helicopter then plunged five metres to the ground, crashing outside the bull ring.

The next pictures showed Mr Rajoy, who appeared shaken but was smiling, being helped out of the wreckage.—Reuters