Seven people, including five U.S. citizens, were killed when a tourist helicopter crashed on the morning of September 18 in a remote area of northern Kenya, according to local police and the U.S. State Department.
The victims included an executive of the U.S. television network Telemundo and the director of Ecuador's National Intelligence Agency.
The accident occurred at 9:13 a.m. local time when the helicopter was flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County. According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, there were 7 people on board—6 passengers and the pilot. All were killed.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that five of the victims were American citizens. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is in contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance to the victims' families.
Local media in Miami, Florida, reported that José Suárez, 55, chairman and general manager of several Telemundo stations in Florida, was among the dead.
Michele Sensi-Contugi, director of Ecuador's National Intelligence Center, also died in the crash. His wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, who held dual U.S.-Ecuadorian citizenship, also perished. The couple leaves behind two young children.
The Eurocopter EC130 B4, owned by Lady Lori Helicopters, was on a charter flight carrying guests of the tour operator &Beyond. Tropic Air Kenya dispatched two rescue helicopters to the scene.
The crash site is a mountainous area near Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in Kenya. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Kenya has seen a number of helicopter crashes in recent times, as the country's tourism industry relies on domestic airlines to transport visitors to remote locations. In February, six people died in a helicopter crash in the western highlands of Kenya.
