Death do us part: Details of businessman who died with wife in chopper crash
This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.
- A safari helicopter carrying six tourists and a pilot went down near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County on Wednesday morning
- Ecuador's intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, were among those on board
- Five of the seven victims were confirmed to be American citizens, including a senior Telemundo executive based in Florida
Ecuador's intelligence chief, Michele Sensi-Contugi, and his wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, were among seven people killed Wednesday when a safari helicopter crashed in a remote area of northern Kenya, authorities confirmed.
The Eurocopter EC130 B4, operated by local company Tropic Air, went down at approximately 9:13 a.m. near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County, about 270 kilometres north of Nairobi. The aircraft was flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area when the accident occurred, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
All seven people on board—six tourists and the pilot—perished in the crash. The U.S. State Department confirmed that five of the victims were American citizens.
Sensi-Contugi, 44, was a dual Italian-Ecuadorian citizen who served as director-general of Ecuador's Centro de Inteligencia Estratégica (CIES), the country's national strategic intelligence agency.
Born in Desio, Italy, on August 12, 1982, to an Italian father and Ecuadorian mother, he built a career in Ecuador's manufacturing and business sectors before entering government. He held dual Italian-Ecuadorian citizenship.
He was a close confidant of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and briefly served as interim government minister from April to August 2024 before being appointed to lead the intelligence agency. His business interests included scenic and tourist flights, as well as the manufacture of plastic and rubber products.
His wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, was a prominent fashion designer and former model in Ecuador who founded Sensi Studio.
SensiStudio was launched in 2010 as a design and product lab. The collections include: genuine Panama hats, hand-woven handbags, and other accessories, which are all completely handmade. In 2014, the brand launched a line of ready-to-wear focusing on summer embroidered dresses.
Designer Stephany Sensi studied Fashion Design at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, and later earned her master’s degree in Brand Management in the same institution (2006).
She then worked alongside Tomas Maier for his eponymous brand, based in Miami (2006-2010). Our products are all manufactured in Ecuador with an artisanal concept yet a current approach and design aesthetic for a fashion-savvy clientele. Currently, we are present in more than 15 countries.
The company works in a close environment of social responsibility with the artisans and their craft, and our combined efforts create a fine creative end product. We are proud to be working with women artisans in the Andean region. It provides work and fair remuneration for the development of their communities.
"All of our customers and brand supporters help the artisan community throughout the Andes region in Ecuador, providing work and a continuation of this millenary weaving craft. Our main goal in the elaboration of these products is to give creative work opportunities for the artisans, where they can show off their craft and abilities and at the same time we are helping maintain the millenary craft of weaving Toquilla Straw," the company says on its website.
Among the American victims was José Suárez, 55, president and general manager of several Telemundo stations in Florida, according to a local Miami television station and NBC Universal.
Other victims identified by Italian media include Roger Duarte, Adam Navaty, Stephen Vasconquez, and Henry Parra. The pilot was identified as Josh Outram, a Kenyan with 15 years of flying experience who had founded an airline to bring visitors to remote regions of the country.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.