Five Americans, Ecuador intelligence chief killed in tourist helicopter crash in Kenya
CNN
By Jennifer Hansler, Michael Rios, CNN
(CNN) — Five Americans and the head of Ecuador’s intelligence agency died after a helicopter carrying tourists crashed in central Kenya Wednesday.
The aircraft was traveling from the Loisaba wildlife conservancy to the Ewaso Ngiro river area when it crashed around 9:13 a.m. at Mount Ololokwe in Samburu county, north of the capital, Nairobi, according to the country’s civil aviation authority.
All seven people on board the aircraft died, Samburu County Police Commander David Nkoroi told reporters.
The helicopter was carrying guests from the luxury tour agency &Beyond on a charter flight, according to operator Lady Lori Helicopters.
The cause of the crash has not been determined and an investigation is underway, the country’s civil aviation agency said.
Michele Sensi-Contugi, the director general of Ecuador’s intelligence agency, and his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan, were killed in the crash, according to Ecuadorian authorities.
Ecuador’s presidential office offered condolences to Sensi-Contugi’s family in a post on Wednesday afternoon. The country’s foreign ministry said its embassy in South Africa is coordinating with local authorities and allies in the region, given it does not have a diplomatic mission in Kenya.
“The death of (Sensi-Contugi) represents a great loss for the country,” the ministry said in its statement.
Hollihan was the founder and CEO of Sensi Studio, which issued a statement Wednesday expressing its condolences. “Her passion for design, craftsmanship, and the people behind it shaped the brand and all of us who had the privilege of being part of her journey,” the company said.
An executive of the American Spanish-language television company Telemundo, José Suárez, was also among those killed in the crash, the company said. Suárez was president and general manager of multiple Telemundo-owned stations.
“The US Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” said a State Department spokesperson, who confirmed the deaths of the five Americans. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss.”
Samburu county is a popular tourist destination, with private wildlife conservancies and remote landscape.
The Kenyan Red Cross said earlier search and recovery efforts were “hampered by difficult terrain access and an active fire at the crash site,” alongside photos of smoke rising from a crash site.
“An additional team has been dispatched from Isiolo to reinforce the operation,” it said in the post on X.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130 B4, now known as the Airbus H130, is a single-engine craft with a max speed of about 178 mph (286 kph). It can carry five to seven people and one pilot.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Abel Alvarado, Alexandra Skores and Diego Mendoza contributed to this report.
