7 Killed in Safari Helicopter Crash in Northern Kenya
All six passengers and the pilot died when a chartered helicopter went down near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County.
Seven people were killed Wednesday morning when a safari helicopter crashed in a remote part of northern Kenya, according to local police.
The helicopter went down at 9:13 a.m. while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement, adding that an investigation was underway. Seven people were on board — six passengers and the pilot.
David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters late Wednesday that all seven aboard had died. The identities of the victims have not been released.
The crash occurred in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in Kenya, according to local media reports.
The helicopter, owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests of the 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 it dispatched two of its own helicopters to assist in search and rescue operations. 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."
The aviation authority identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter EC130 B4.
Helicopter crashes have become increasingly frequent in Kenya, whose tourism industry relies heavily on domestic carriers to transport visitors to remote destinations such as Mount Ololokwe. In February, a lawmaker was among six people killed in a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.
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