Kenya: Ecuador Intelligence Chief, Wife Among Seven Killed in Samburu Helicopter Crash

What the report says

Ecuador’s intelligence chief, Michele Sensi-Contugi, and his wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, were among seven people killed when a helicopter crashed in Samburu County, Kenya, according to a Capital FM report distributed by AllAfrica. The accident happened on Wednesday morning at Mt. Ololokwe, with the aircraft identified as a Eurocopter EC130 B4 operated by Lady Lori Kenya Ltd. Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority said the helicopter was flying from Loisaba to Ewasonyiro when it went down at about 9:13 a.m.

Authorities said all seven people on board died. Recovery operations were slowed by difficult access to the rugged hillside and an active fire at the crash site. The Kenya Red Cross said teams were working to reach the wreckage, and an additional response team was sent from Isiolo to assist.

The cause of the crash had not been determined at the time of reporting. Kenya’s Air Accident Investigation Department was leading the probe, while the civil aviation authority coordinated with other agencies. Ecuador’s transport minister, Roberto Luque, publicly offered condolences after the deaths were reported.

Sensi-Contugi was the director general of Ecuador’s Center for Strategic Intelligence, a senior national security post. His death, along with that of his wife, adds an international dimension to an accident that is now under investigation in Kenya.