US journalist among 7 killed when helicopter on safari crashes in remote part of northern Kenya

By NICHOLAS KOMU

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A helicopter taking tourists on a safari crashed Wednesday in a remote part of northern Kenya, killing all seven people on board including a U.S. journalist.

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 that an investigation was underway. Six passengers and the pilot were on the helicopter.

David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters that 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 Ft. Myers–Naples — was among those killed in the crash.

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 that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.

Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement that 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 that its emergency response teams were “participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams work to access the crash site.”

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.