The seven people who died in a helicopter crash at Mt Ololokwe in Samburu County have been identified as recovery efforts and investigations into the accident continue.
The victims were named as pilot Josh Outram and passengers Roger Duarte, Adam Navaty, Stephen Vasconquez, Henry Parra, Michael Contugi and Suian Suarez, the only woman among those on board.
Outram was a fourth-generation Kenyan who had more than 15 years of flying experience in Kenya’s conservation and commercial sectors.
He also founded an African helicopter company that provided access to some of the remote areas of northern Kenya.
His company worked with Loisaba Conservancy and neighbouring conservancies, offering aerial support for wildlife monitoring, animal translocations and darting operations.
Outram had previously spoken about his love for flying in northern Kenya, describing the Suguta Valley as one of his favourite routes.
The area is known for its wildlife conservancies, volcanic craters, river sandbanks, lava pools and lake beds, including areas around Lake Turkana.
His interest in aviation started at a young age. He later obtained his commercial pilot qualifications after first earning a private pilot licence and went on to build experience flying across different parts of Kenya.
While authorities have released the names of all seven people who died, the nationalities of the six passengers have not been officially confirmed.
The identities and notification process are expected to continue as authorities work to establish more details about those on board.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4 with registration number 5Y-GYM.
The helicopter was flying from Soyian in Laikipia County towards Loisaba Conservancy when it crashed at Mt Ololokwe.
Police and emergency teams were deployed to the crash site following the accident, with recovery teams facing difficult terrain around the mountain.
The Air Accident Investigation department under the Ministry of Roads and Transport has taken the lead in the technical investigation.
The department will be working alongside other departments to figure out what happened leading to the crash.
Investigations will involve the examination of the plane wreckage, flight data, and other evidence that will lead to an understanding of the moments before the crash.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
The accident has not yet been attributed to any particular reason including weather, mechanical failure, pilot error and others.