Ecuador Declares Three Days of Mourning After Couple Dies in Kenya Helicopter Crash

Ecuador has declared three days of national mourning after intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, Stephany Hollihan, were killed in a helicopter crash in northern Kenya.

President Daniel Noboa described the couple as close friends and members of his extended family, saying their deaths had deeply affected him and his wife, Lavinia. In a statement issued on Thursday, Noboa said Sensi-Contugi had remained loyal during some of the most difficult moments of his presidency and had helped him confront difficult decisions.

“The accident in Kenya took two friends from me, but above all, it took two people who were like family to us,” Noboa said. 

He added that Lavinia had shared both difficult moments and happy memories with the couple. Noboa also pledged that their children would not face the future without support. Sensi-Contugi, an Italian-Ecuadorian businessman, served as Director General of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Centre (CIES). 

Hollihan was a fashion designer and the founder of Sensi Studio, with an international career in the fashion industry. The Ecuadorian government has begun preparations for a state funeral following their deaths. The three-day mourning period reflects the couple’s prominence in public life, with Sensi-Contugi serving in a senior government position and Hollihan having built a career in the creative sector.

The helicopter crashed on Wednesday morning near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County. The Eurocopter EC130 B4 was carrying six tourists and Kenyan pilot Josh Outram when it went down while travelling from Loisaba Conservancy towards the Ewaso Nyiro River.

Outram, an experienced pilot with strong links to conservation work in northern Kenya, was among those killed. The other passengers were José Suárez, a senior Telemundo executive, and Miami-based businessmen Roger Duarte, Adam Hlavaty and Henry Parra.

Kenyan authorities have opened an investigation into the crash, led by the Air Accident Investigation Department. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the aircraft type and said technical teams were examining the wreckage.

Authorities have not yet established whether weather conditions, mechanical failure or human error contributed to the crash. The cause remains under investigation.

The deaths have left Ecuador mourning two prominent figures while investigations continue in Kenya. Sensi-Contugi’s death has also created a vacancy at the centre of Ecuador’s intelligence administration, while Hollihan’s death has brought an end to her work in the international fashion industry.

Ecuador is now preparing to honour the couple at a state funeral as Kenyan investigators work to establish what caused the helicopter to crash.