A helicopter carrying tourists on a safari flight crashed in northern Kenya on Wednesday morning, killing all seven people on board, including Ecuador’s intelligence chief, his wife, and a Telemundo television executive from Florida.
The Eurocopter EC130 B4 went down at approximately 09:13 local time in Samburu County while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy toward the Ewaso Nyiro area, a river that flows along several national reserves, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. The aircraft was operated by Lady Lori Helicopters and was carrying guests with the travel company &Beyond. Six passengers and one pilot were on board. Lady Lori said it was deeply saddened by the accident and extended its deepest sympathies to the guests, crew, their families, loved ones, and all those affected.
The crash killed Michele Sensi-Contugi, director general of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center, and his wife, Stephany Hollihan. Ecuador’s Transport Minister Roberto Luque confirmed their deaths on X, writing that Michele and Stephany left too soon and expressing sympathy for their family, especially their children and parents. Ecuador’s presidential office issued a separate statement expressing heartfelt condolences, and former President Guillermo Lasso also paid tribute on the platform.
Sensi-Contugi was a former businessman appointed to lead the National Intelligence Center in 2024. He was a close associate of President Daniel Noboa, whose country is mired in a security crisis, according to Al Jazeera. BBC reported his age as 44, while Al Jazeera cited 42.
Telemundo executive identified among the dead
NBCUniversal confirmed that José Alberto Suárez, president and general manager of Telemundo’s owned stations in Orlando, Tampa, and Fort Myers-Naples, Florida, was among those killed. He was 55. Suárez had worked for NBCUniversal in multiple roles over 20 years, including leading stations in San Antonio, Sacramento, Fresno, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas, and earlier held digital media and creative services roles at NBC and Telemundo outlets in Miami.
In a memo to employees, NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde, NBCU Local chairman Valari Staab, and Telemundo station group president Jose Cancela said they were heartbroken to share the news. They described Suárez as a deeply respected leader and beloved friend and colleague who cared deeply about his teams and the communities they served, bringing energy, humor, warmth, and a strong sense of purpose to his work. His impact was felt far beyond the stations he led, the memo said.
Suárez received multiple honors during his career, including the 2019 Lone Star Emmy for overall excellence while at Telemundo 60 San Antonio, a Suncoast Chapter Emmy for outstanding station promotion image with NBC 6, three Cleveland-chapter Emmys for outstanding daily newscast, and several Associated Press awards for his work at Fox Toledo. He had been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists since 1998.
Recovery efforts hampered by flames and terrain
The crash site sits in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination. An image shared online showed smoke at the site. Police commander David Nkoroi of Samburu told reporters that all seven people had died but did not reveal their identities. The Kenya Red Cross told the BBC that the area was not yet accessible, but drones were being used to assess the scene. The organization said its emergency response teams were participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams worked to reach the wreckage.
Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations. Three bodies were still trapped in the wreckage as of Wednesday evening, with recovery operations scheduled to continue on Thursday due to ongoing flames at the crash site, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the transport ministry and Air Accident Investigations Department would lead investigations into the circumstances surrounding the accident.
A US State Department spokesperson said five American citizens were among the dead. The US Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance, the spokesperson said, extending deepest condolences to the families and loved ones. The identities of the five Americans have not yet been fully confirmed, according to the BBC. Variety, citing NBC’s Miami station, reported that Suárez was one of four Americans who died, a figure that differs from the State Department’s count of five.
Samburu County is a popular tourist destination with many private wildlife conservancies and is renowned for its scenery. Helicopter crashes are not uncommon in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places. In February, a helicopter crash in the Rift Valley county of Nandi killed six people, including a member of parliament. In 2024, military chief Gen Francis Omondi Ogolla died after an army helicopter carrying 11 people crashed in the west of the country, with only two survivors. In June 2021, at least 10 soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed while landing near the capital, Nairobi.