A helicopter carrying an unknown number of passengers crashed Wednesday morning in a remote part of northern Kenya, the country’s aviation agency said.
Read more Man fatally shot in West Park ID’d, BSO says
The helicopter crashed at 9:13 a.m. while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, which said in a statement that an investigation was underway.
The helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination, local media reported. It was not immediately clear if the helicopter was carrying tourists or others.
Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, hampered by difficult terrain access and an active fire at the crash site.
An additional team has been dispatched from Isiolo to reinforce the operation.
More updates to follow. https://t.co/XUjWArYul3 pic.twitter.com/qSApuA1b0y
— Kenya Red Cross (@KenyaRedCross) August 19, 2026
Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations but denied ownership of the helicopter that crashed. Local media had reported that Tropic Air operated the helicopter.
Read more HISTORIC HEAT: Miami ties all-time record with temperature not seen since 1942
The aviation authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4, which can carry up to seven passengers, but didn’t say how many people were on board.
The Kenya Red Cross said its emergency response teams were “participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams work to access the crash site.”
Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places like Mount Ololokwe.
In February, a legislator was among six people who died after a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.
Read more South Florida graffiti artist ‘ATOMIK’ arrested after spray painting at Miami Seaquarium, cops say