Helicopter Crashes in Northern Kenya, Killing 7 Including Ecuador's Intelligence Chief

A helicopter carrying seven people, including the pilot and passengers, crashed on the 19th (local time) in Samburu County, a well-known tourist destination in northern Kenya, leaving no survivors.

It was confirmed that the dead included the head of Ecuador's intelligence agency and his wife.

The U.S. State Department also announced that five U.S. citizens were killed in the accident.

According to the Associated Press and other reports, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) stated that the crashed aircraft, a Eurocopter EC130 B4, went down at the foothills of Mount Ololokwe while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy in Samburu to the Ewaso Nyiro region at around 9:13 a.m. that day.

Witnesses reported that the helicopter crashed in a rugged, mountainous area difficult for vehicles to access, and that smoke and flames rose from the site.

Local media reported that the crashed helicopter belonged to local company Lady Loree Helicopters and was carrying clients of the tour operator andBeyond on that day.

Citing a presidential office official, Ecuadorian media outlet Ecuavisa reported that Michele Sensi Contugi, head of Ecuador's intelligence agency, the National Center for Intelligence (CIES), and his wife Stephanie Hollihan were killed in the accident.

Contugi, who had served as CIES director since August 2024, held dual Italian and Ecuadorian citizenship and was known as a close associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.

His wife Hollihan was a fashion designer.

The Ecuadorian presidential office subsequently posted on X to announce the couple's deaths and express its condolences.

Italy's ANSA news agency also reported the deaths of Contugi and his wife, adding that the Italian Embassy in Kenya had stepped in to provide assistance at the accident scene.

The U.S. State Department confirmed on the same day that five Americans were among the victims of the crash.

While the State Department did not disclose specific identities of the victims, including whether they held dual citizenship, the Associated Press reported that the victims included Jose Suarez, an executive at Telemundo, a Spanish-language broadcaster affiliated with NBC, based in Florida.

Local media noted that Samburu, where the accident occurred, is home to a national wildlife reserve and frequently visited by tourists to view wildlife, and that Mount Ololokwe has recently seen a rise in tourists taking helicopter tours to enjoy the scenery.

Helicopter and aircraft crashes have occurred frequently in Kenya recently along with the development of its tourism industry.

In October of last year, a Cessna light aircraft traveling from Kwale County near the eastern coastal city of Mombasa to the Maasai Mara National Reserve crashed, killing 11 people, and in February of this year, a helicopter crashed in the western hills of Kenya, killing six people, including a sitting lawmaker.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.