{"id":239,"date":"2026-08-22T19:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T19:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/?p=239"},"modified":"2026-08-22T19:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T19:11:17","slug":"%f0%9d%90%84%f0%9d%90%9c%f0%9d%90%ae%f0%9d%90%9a%f0%9d%90%9d%f0%9d%90%a8%f0%9d%90%ab-%f0%9d%90%88%f0%9d%90%a7%f0%9d%90%ad%f0%9d%90%9e%f0%9d%90%a5%f0%9d%90%a5%f0%9d%90%a2%f0%9d%90%a0%f0%9d%90%9e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/?p=239","title":{"rendered":"\ud835\udc04\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc08\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc1e \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1f \ud835\udc00\ud835\udc26\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc20 \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2f\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc0a\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1d \ud835\udc22\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc26\ud835\udc1b\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc2e \ud835\udc07\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc29\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc21"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo Courtesy Of The Eastleigh Voice.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ecuador\u2019s intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan, were among seven people killed after a tourist helicopter crashed near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The helicopter was carrying six passengers and one pilot, and all seven people on board died, according to Kenyan authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crash occurred at about 9:13 a.m. local time as the aircraft was operating a charter flight in the Samburu region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the Eurocopter EC130 B4 was flying from the Loisaba Conservancy towards the Ewaso Nyiro area when it crashed near Mount Ololokwe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. State Department confirmed that five of those killed were American citizens. A spokesperson said the U.S. Embassy was in contact with Kenyan authorities and was providing consular assistance to the victims’ families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Among the victims was Michele Sensi-Contugi, 44, the director of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Centre. His wife, Stephany Hollihan, was also killed. Hollihan was a U.S.-Ecuadorian citizen.Ecuador’s government confirmed Sensi-Contugi’s death and expressed condolences to his family and loved ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Daniel Noboa subsequently declared three days of national mourning.Sensi-Contugi was appointed head of Ecuador’s intelligence service in January 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was considered a close ally of President Noboa and had previously served in his government.Hollihan was a fashion designer and founder of Sensi Studio, a fashion brand associated with Ecuadorian designs and traditional materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another victim was Jos\u00e9 Alberto Su\u00e1rez, a senior Telemundo executive in the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Telemundo Executive Jos\u0113 Alberto Suarez<\/em>. Photo Courtesy of LA Times<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Other victims included Miami restaurateur Roger Edward Duarte, Adam Martin Hlavaty and Henry Parra. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kenyan pilot was identified as Josh Outram. Kenyan police confirmed the identities of the seven victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pilot Josh Outram. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Company responds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The helicopter was operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, a Kenyan charter company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company confirmed that one of its aircraft had been involved in the accident and said it was cooperating with authorities investigating the crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur deepest sympathies are with the guests, crew, their families and loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic accident,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The crash site was in a rugged area near Mount Ololokwe, a well-known tourist destination in Samburu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rescue teams, including the Kenya Red Cross, responded to the scene, where smoke and fire were reported around the wreckage.Kenya’s Air Accident Investigation Department is investigating the crash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cause of the accident has not yet been established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident comes amid a history of fatal helicopter crashes in Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2026, six people, including a member of parliament, were killed in a helicopter crash in Nandi County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2024, military chief General Francis Omondi Ogolla and nine other people died when a Kenya Defence Forces helicopter crashed in western Kenya. Two people survived the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Courtesy Of The Eastleigh Voice. Ecuador\u2019s intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, fashion…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[90,91,87,92,88,84,83,89,85,86],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-interest","category-international","tag-adam","tag-henry-parra","tag-jose-alberto-suarez","tag-josh-outram","tag-miami-restaraunter","tag-michele-sensi","tag-plane-crash","tag-roger-edward-duarte","tag-stephany-holihan","tag-telemundo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269,"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updateplug.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}