Samburu: Ecuador’s intelligence chief and his wife reportedly died in the helicopter crash in Kenya.
Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife Stephany Hollihan were among the seven people killed in the accident that happened in Samburu county, reported the BBC.
The other five victims were Americans, a US State Department spokesperson told BBC. According to the reports, the helicopter was on a scenic flight from a wildlife conservancy in Loisaba to Ewaso Nyiro river. The river flows along several national reserves.
Images from the scene show smoke emanating from the forest site on Mount Ololokwe.
Ecuador has not given details about the death of Sensi-Contugi. He was named director general of the Strategic Intelligence Center in 2024.
However, the Kenya president’s office led tributes on behalf of the government to mourn the death of the intelligence chief. Former President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso also mentioned he had died in the crash.
According to a memo that was cited in a BBC report, one of the Americans killed in the crash was NBCUniversal journalist, José Alberto Suárez.
Miami restaurateur Roger Duarte also died in the crash.
Past accidents
Kenya had witnessed helicopter crashes previously as well. In February, a helicopter crash in the Rift Valley county of Nandi killed six persons, including a member of parliament.
In 2024, the military chief, Gen Francis Omondi Ogolla, died after an army helicopter crashed in the west of the country. It had two survivors.
In June 2021 at least 10 soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed while landing near, Nairobi.