A helicopter carrying safari tourists crashed in a remote part of northern Kenya on Wednesday, killing all seven people aboard, authorities said.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft, a Eurocopter EC130 B4, went down around 9:13 a.m. local time while travelling from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area of Samburu County. It crashed in hilly terrain near Mount Ololokwe, a well-known tourist landmark.
Samburu police commander David Nkoroi confirmed there were no survivors among the six passengers and one pilot, though he did not immediately release names.
The helicopter, operated by Kenyan firm Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying clients of the safari operator &Beyond, the company confirmed.
The U.S. State Department said five American citizens were among those killed and that the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi was assisting affected families. Ecuador’s transport minister said the country’s intelligence chief and his wife also died in the crash. U.S. broadcaster NBCUniversal identified one victim as a senior executive at its Telemundo network. The Kenyan pilot also died.
Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash. Kenya’s tourism sector, which relies heavily on small aircraft to reach remote wildlife reserves, has recorded several fatal helicopter and light-aircraft accidents in recent years.
