Five Americans and the Director General of Ecuador’s intelligence agency, Michele Sensi-Contugi, have been killed in a helicopter crash in Kenya.
The helicopter crashed on Wednesday morning at Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County, central Kenya, with seven people on board, according to Kenya’s civil aviation authorities.
Sensi-Contugi and his wife were among those killed, while American Spanish-language television company Telemundo identified its executive, José Suárez, as another victim.
The US State Department confirmed the deaths of the five Americans and said the US Embassy was providing consular assistance.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests from luxury tour company &Beyond.
It was travelling from the Loisaba wildlife conservancy to the Ewaso Ngiro River when it crashed.
The Kenya Red Cross said search and recovery efforts were being hampered by difficult terrain and an active fire at the crash site.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
Kenya’s Transport Ministry has launched an investigation into the incident.
