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. Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, perished in Kenya. Photo: El Universo/SensiStudios. Source: UGC Where was helicopter crash in Kenya? The Eurocopter EC130 B4, operated by a local company, went down at approximately 9:13 a.m. near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu ounty, 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. Who was Michele Sensi-Contugi? 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. Stephany Hollihan Vasconez’s fashion brand His wife, Stephany Hollihan Vasconez, was a prominent fashion designer and former model in Ecuador who founded SensiStudio.
About SensiStudio, owned by Michele Sensi-Contugi’s wife 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). The products are all manufactured in Ecuador with an artisanal concept yet a current approach and design aesthetic for a fashion-savvy clientele. Currently, they 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. The company states on its website that it works with women artisans in the Andean region and 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. Who are Samburu chopper crash victims? 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 include Roger Duarte, Adam Navaty, 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.
