A helicopter taking tourists on a safari crashed Wednesday in a remote part of northern Kenya, killing all seven people on board. In a statement to CBS News, the State Department confirmed five Americans were killed in the crash.
“The U.S. Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” the spokesperson said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss.”
The helicopter crashed at 9:13 a.m. while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, which said in a statement an investigation was underway. Six passengers and the pilot were on the helicopter.
Kenya Red Cross via AP 
David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters all seven people on board had died but did not reveal their identities.
Later Wednesday, NBCUniversal said its journalist José Alberto Suárez — president and general manager of Telemundo 31, Telemundo 49 and Telemundo Fort Myers–Naples — was among those killed in the crash.
In a memo sent to staff obtained by CBS News, NBCUniversal leaders called Suárez “a deeply respected leader and beloved friend and colleague.”
“José was an exceptional colleague and mentor to many,” the memo says. “He cared deeply about his teams, the communities they served and the essential role our stations play in people’s lives.”
Kenya Red Cross/Handout via Reuters 
Miami restaurateur Roger Duarte was killed in the crash, a statement from his family confirmed, saying they’re “devastated and heartbroken.”
“The magnitude of this tragedy is impossible to comprehend, and there are no words to express the depth of our pain. We ask that you keep them all and everyone who loved them in your prayers,” the statement reads. “We respectfully request privacy as our families grieve this unimaginable loss.”
Ecuador’s transport minister said the nation’s intelligence chief, Michele Sensi-Contugi, and his wife were also killed in the crash.
“Today Michele and Stephany left us too soon. Thinking of their family, especially their children and parents,” transport minister Roberto Luque wrote on X.
The statement from the Duarte and Valls families — Duarte’s wife is Nicole Valls — also named Suárez, Sensi-Contugi and Stephany Holliham Yeaza as among those who were killed, and identified the pilot and the two other passengers.
The helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media reported. The helicopter, owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel company &Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.
Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.
The aviation authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4.
The Kenya Red Cross said its emergency response teams were “participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams work to access the crash site.”
“Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, hampered by difficult terrain access and an active fire at the crash site,” the organization posted on social media along with images of the wreckage.
Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places like Mount Ololokwe.
In February, a legislator was among six people who died after a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.
In 2019, four Americans and a local pilot were killed in Kenya when their helicopter crashed on an island in the north of the country.
