Overview
- The Eurocopter EC130 B4 sightseeing helicopter operated by Lady Lori crashed near Mount Ololokwe during a charter flight on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and all seven people aboard were killed.
- José Alberto Suárez, a 55-year-old Telemundo station president and longtime NBCUniversal executive, was confirmed among the dead in an internal NBCUniversal memo.
- Officials and family statements have identified other victims, including Miami restaurateur Roger Duarte and Ecuadorian intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, and the U.S. State Department says five Americans were killed.
- Kenya’s Air Accident Investigation Department is leading a formal investigation, Lady Lori says it is cooperating, and recovery and evidence gathering were hampered by rugged terrain and an active fire at the site.
- NBCUniversal and the U.S. Embassy are providing support and consular assistance to families while media communities and tour operators have issued condolences as investigators work to determine the cause.