Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Tuesday named Lorena Escudero as defense minister days after her female predecessor's death in a helicopter crash.

Escudero, 41, was a college professor.

The air crash occurred on Wednesday night after two helicopters collided in mid-air near a military base in Manta, some 260 km southeast of Quito, killing 50-year-old Guadalupe Larriva, her 17-year-old daughter and five army officers.

Larriva, who took office on Jan. 15, was the first woman defense chief in Ecuador's history. She was a leader of the Socialist Party that supports Correa.

Correa has ordered to carry out an international investigation of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)