Seven people, including five Americans, were killed on Wednesday morning when a safari helicopter crashed in a remote area of northern Kenya. Local police and the state department confirmed the fatalities.
Among those who died were an executive from Telemundo, the US-based Spanish-language network, and the director of Ecuador’s national intelligence service, Michele Sensi-Contugi. Mr Sensi-Contugi was reportedly visiting Kenya as a tourist with his wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, who was a dual US and Ecuadorian citizen and also died in the crash.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 owned by Lady Lori Helicopters, crashed at 9:13 am while flying from Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu county. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has stated that an investigation is underway.
A local television station in Miami, Florida, identified José Suárez, 55, president and GM of several Telemundo stations in Florida, as one of the victims. NBC Universal and Telemundo leadership issued a joint statement expressing their heartbreak at the news.