Tourists killed in helicopter crash

CAPTION: Rescue officials work at the site of a tourist helicopter crash in Samburu County, Kenya, that US officials say killed five Americans [Kenya Red Cross/Handout via Reuters]

By AFP and The Associated Press

A helicopter taking tourists on a safari has crashed in a remote part of northern Kenya, killing all seven people on board, including an Ecuadorian official and an American journalist.

The helicopter crashed at 9:13am local time (06:13 GMT) on Wednesday while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, which said in a statement that an investigation was under way.

Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places like Mount Ololokwe.

Six passengers and the pilot were on board the helicopter, officials said. David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters that all seven people had died but did not reveal their identities.

Later on Wednesday, Ecuador’s Transport Minister Roberto Luque said the country’s intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, Stephany Hollihan, were among those killed in the crash.

“Today Michele and Stephany left us too soon. Thinking of their family, especially their children and parents,” Luque wrote on X.

Sensi-Contugi, 42, is a former businessman appointed as head of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center in 2024. He was a close associate of right-wing President Daniel Noboa, whose country is mired in a security crisis.

US broadcaster NBCUniversal also said its journalist Jose Alberto Suarez – president and general manager of Telemundo 31, Telemundo 49, and Telemundo Fort Myers–Naples – was among those killed.

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A spokesperson for the United States Department of State said five US citizens were among the dead.

“The US Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” he said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss.”

A rescue official works at the site of a tourist helicopter crash in Samburu County, Kenya [Handout/Kenya Red Cross via Reuters]

Recovery operations continue

The helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media reported.

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The helicopter, owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel company &Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.

Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement that it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.

The aviation authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4.

The Kenya Red Cross said that its emergency response teams were “participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams work to access the crash site”.

Three bodies were still trapped in the wreckage as of Wednesday evening, with recovery operations to continue on Thursday due to the ongoing flames at the crash site, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported.

In February, a Kenyan legislator was among six people who died after a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.