Eyewitnessess describe moments before deadly Kenya helicopter crash

Residents of Samburu County in northern Kenya have been describing the moments before a deadly helicopter crash that killed all seven people on board.

A safari helicopter crashed on Wednesday morning in a remote part of northern Kenya, killing seven people, including five Americans, according to local police and the US State Department.

"I witnessed this incident from the start. From when the chopper went down from the top of the hill, to when it tumbled down up to here," said eyewitness Jaycob Lekoriani.

"We rushed from the village to here, where the incident happened, and then tried to rescue those involved. But we got here when people had died."

A helicopter crashed while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, officials said.

The helicopter came down in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media reported.

Owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, the chopper was carrying guests with travel company & Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.

Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement that it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.

The aviation authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4.

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.