LIMA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A Peruvian air force helicopter crashed on Wednesday in south-central Peru, killing three people on board and injuring the other three, an air force spokeswoman said.

She said two air force crew members and an army officer died when the helicopter crashed in Pacobamba, in the Ayacucho region, 220 miles (350 km) southeast of the capital Lima. Three other people, also from the military, were hurt.

The spokeswoman gave no cause for the crash of the Twin Bell 212 helicopter.

Ayacucho police said Pacobamba was near the Apurimac River Valley, an epicenter of a growing coca-cultivation area. Coca is the raw material for cocaine.

The U.S. government is funding a police academy project in the Ayacucho region to train anti-narcotics forces, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said. The academy plans to draw recruits from the area.

The cornerstone of the academy building is to be laid on Friday in an official ceremony, he said.

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