Ecuador's intelligence chief and wife killed in Kenya helicopter crash

Ecuador's intelligence chief and his wife have been killed in a helicopter that crashed at Mount Ololokwe in central Kenya.

Michele Sensi-Contugi, 44, and his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan, 42, were among the group of seven people - six tourists and the pilot - killed in Samburu county at approximately 09:13 (06:13 GMT) on Wednesday.

Five of victims were Americans, a US State Department spokesperson said. The Reuters news agency reports that Hollihan also held US citizenship.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said the helicopter was on a scenic flight from a wildlife conservancy in Loisaba to Ewaso Nyiro, a river that flows along several national reserves.

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's President Daniel Noboa named Sensi-Contugo director of the country's Centre of Strategic Intelligence (CIES) in January 2024.

The office of the president and Ecuador's National Assembly expressed their condolences over his death and that of Hollihan.

The Italian-Ecuadorean businessman had had close links to Noboa even before he was chosen to lead the intelligence service and was considered a close ally of the president.

Shortly before being named head of the CIES, he had served for four months as a minister in his cabinet.

Noboa has declared three days of national mourning starting on Thursday.

Newspapers in Ecuador have also run obituaries of Hollihan. The Guayaquil-based designer founded Sensi Studio, a brand praised for incorporating traditional Ecuadorean elements and materials in its designs.