{"id":2874,"date":"2026-08-19T21:56:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T21:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=2874"},"modified":"2026-08-19T21:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T21:56:44","slug":"ecuador-intelligence-chief-and-five-americans-killed-in-kenya-helicopter-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=2874","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador intelligence chief and five Americans killed in Kenya helicopter crash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Samburu county is a popular tourist destination with many private wildlife conservancies and is renowned for its stunning landscape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Images from the scene show smoke at the wooded crash site on Mount Ololokwe, as members of the Kenya Red Cross approach the still-burning wreckage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Ecuador has not given details about the death of Sensi-Contugi, 44, who was named director general of the Strategic Intelligence Center in 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The president&#8217;s office led tributes on behalf of the government to express sadness over the death of the intelligence chief. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Former President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso mentioned he had died in the helicopter crash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Lady Lori Helicopters, which operated the the Eurocopter EC130 B4 aircraft, said it was &#8220;deeply saddened&#8221; by the accident. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Our deepest sympathies are with the guests, crew, their families and loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic accident,&#8221; a statement read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">According to a memo seen by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/helicopter-crash-kenya-deaths-us-journalist\/\" class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\">BBC&#8217;s US partner CBS News<span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">, <!-- -->external<\/span><\/a> one of the Americans killed in the crash was NBCUniversal journalist Jos\u00e9 Alberto Su\u00e1rez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In the memo, NBCUniversal called Su\u00e1rez &#8220;a deeply respected leader and beloved friend and colleague.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Jos\u00e9 was an exceptional colleague and mentor to many,&#8221; the memo read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Miami restaurateur Roger Duarte was among the Americans killed in the crash, according to local and US media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Commenting on his death on X, US Rep Carlos Antonio Gimenez wrote:  &#8220;Our prayers are with their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. May their memories be a blessing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The four other American victims have not yet been identified. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Earlier reports had suggested seven people, six tourists and a pilot, were killed in the crash. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Helicopter crashes are not uncommon in Kenya.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In February, a helicopter crash in the Rift Valley county of Nandi killed six people, including a member of parliament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In 2024, the military chief, Gen Francis Omondi Ogolla, died after an army helicopter that was carrying 11 people crashed in the west of the country, with only two survivors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In June 2021 at least 10 soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed while landing near the capital, Nairobi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Samburu county is a popular tourist destination with many private wildlife conservancies and is renowned for its stunning landscape. Images from the scene show smoke at the wooded crash site on Mount Ololokwe, as members of the Kenya Red Cross approach the still-burning wreckage. Ecuador has not given details about the death of Sensi-Contugi, 44,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[846,4686,264,237,4687,913,2571,876],"class_list":["post-2874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-news","tag-americans","tag-chief","tag-crash","tag-ecuador","tag-helicopter","tag-intelligence","tag-kenya","tag-killed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2874\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}