Ecuador’s intelligence chief and five U.S. citizens died when a tourist helicopter crashed in central Kenya on Wednesday, killing all seven people on board, officials said.
This photo provided by the Kenya Red Cross shows Kenya Red Cross emergency response teams during a multi-agency rescue and recovery operation in response to a helicopter crash that killed tourists near Mt. Ololokwe in Samburu, Kenya, on August 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP Images shared by the Kenya Red Cross on X in the afternoon showed a crash site in flames. Because of darkness and the complex nature of the ground and the scene of the crash, contacted by AFP on Wednesday evening (August 19, 2026), Samburu County police chief David Nkoroi said “operations have been suspended until tomorrow.
The accident happened Wednesday morning in Samburu County, north of the capital Nairobi, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA). It said difficult terrain hampered rescue operations. “We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that Jose was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya,” said a statement by Cesar Conde, newsgroup chairman of parent company NBCUniversal , and two other executives.
Thinking of their family, especially their children and parents,” Luque wrote on X. “Today Michele and Stephany left us too soon.
“There were seven people on board the helicopter, one pilot and six passengers,” Fredrick Kabunge, director of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Department (AAID), told AFP , confirming that no one had survived.
