Seven people have been killed after a tourist helicopter crashed near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County, central Kenya, on Wednesday morning. Among the dead were Michele Sensi-Contugi, the 44-year-old director general of Ecuador's Strategic Intelligence Centre, his wife Stephany Hollihan, five other American nationals, and a Kenyan pilot — all of whom perished when the aircraft came down at approximately 9:13 a.m. local time.

The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, was conducting a sightseeing flight between the Loisaba wildlife conservancy and the Ewaso Nyiro river — a waterway that runs through several of Kenya's national reserves — when it went down. Rescue teams from the Kenya Red Cross described challenging conditions at the site, with difficult terrain and an active fire hampering access. Drones were deployed to survey the area, and images shared on social media showed black smoke rising near the foot of the mountain. The director of Kenya's Aircraft Accident Investigation Department, Fredrick Kabunge, confirmed the helicopter was destroyed by both the impact and a subsequent fire, with no survivors.

Among those identified was NBCUniversal journalist José Alberto Suárez, described by his employer in an internal memo as