Seven people, mostly foreign tourists, killed in helicopter crash in Kenya

By AFP and The Associated Press.

Key points

• US broadcaster NBCUniversal additionally stated its journalist Jose Alberto Suarez – president and general manager of Telemundo 31, Telemundo 49, and Telemundo Fort Myers-Naples – was among those killed.
• Afterwards on Wednesday, Ecuador's Transport Minister Roberto Luque stated the country's intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, Stephany Hollihan, were among those killed in the crash.
• Sensi-Contugi, 42, is a former businessman appointed as head of Ecuador's National Intelligence Center in 2024.
• A spokesperson for the United States Department of State remarked five US citizens were among the dead.
• The helicopter, owned by local firm Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel business &Beyond.

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

In practice, 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. It remarked in an official note that an investigation was under way.

Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya. It 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, authorities stated. David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, remarked to journalists that all seven residents had died but did not reveal their identities.

"Today Michele and Stephany left us too shortly. 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.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the United States Department of State remarked five US citizens were among the dead.

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

In practice, the helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media documented.

Notably, the helicopter, owned by local firm Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel business &Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters remarked in an official note that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.

Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, remarked in an official note that it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations. The aviation authority remarked the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4.

According to The Kenya Red Cross, 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 documented.

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

In short, seven people, mostly foreign tourists, killed in helicopter crash in Kenya is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.