Nairobi: Ecuadorian authorities announced today the death of Michel Sensi-Contogui, head of Ecuador's intelligence service, and his wife, along with five others, in a tourist helicopter crash near Mount Ololokwy in central Kenya.
Ecuadorian Transport Minister Roberto Luque confirmed the deaths of the Ecuadorian official and his wife in a post on the X platform today, offering his condolences to their families.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority announced that seven people were killed when a helicopter traveling from the Luisaba Wildlife Sanctuary to the Ewaso Nero River area crashed near Mount Ololokwy, about 250 kilometers north of the capital, Nairobi.
Frederick Kabongi, director of Kenya's Air Accident Investigation Service (AAIS), said the helicopter was carrying seven people, including the pilot and six tourists. Rescue teams found it completely destroyed by the force of the impact and the fire that erupted after the crash.
In parallel with the on-site operations, AAIS investigators began working to determine the nationalities of the victims and gather information related to the flight.
The AAIS also dispatched a team to the crash site to conduct the necessary investigations and determine the circumstances surrounding the helicopter's crash. Authorities have not yet announced a possible cause for the crash.
This incident comes after a helicopter crash in western Kenya on March 1, which killed six people, including a member of parliament.
