Forbes 30 under 30 chief executive Roger Duarte has been named among seven people who died in a helicopter crash in Kenya on Wednesday morning.
Duarte, 42, was one of five Americans on board the chartered aircraft, which plummeted to the ground at 9.13am before it reached its remote safari destination.
Everyone on board – six tourists and a Kenyan pilot – perished in the tragedy. Florida-based TV executive José Suárez has also been named among the dead.
Duarte was a popular and highly successful seafood entrepreneur from Miami, where he lived in a $2.8 million mansion with his wife and two young sons.
His heartbroken father, Roger Duarte Sr, confirmed his death in a phone call with the Daily Mail hours after the crash.
‘I’m very devastated right now,’ the 82-year-old said. ‘I don’t have the words to express my feelings.’
‘We don’t know much about what happened,’ he added. ‘They are investigating the crash.’
The high-flying executives lost their lives on Wednesday morning after their tour group departed from Loisaba Conservancy, heading for the Ewaso Nyiro area of Samburu County in northern Kenya.
Forbes 30 under 30 chief executive Roger Duarte has been named as one of the seven people who have died in a safari helicopter crash in Kenya. He is pictured with his wife Nicole Valls
Duarte, 42, was a popular and highly successful seafood entrepreneur from Miami, Florida, where he lived in a $2.8 million mansion, pictured above, with his wife and two young sons
Duarte was among a group of six tourists on board the chartered helicopter, which was flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County for a wildlife safari on Wednesday morning when it crashed at 9.13am. The scene is shown above
Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority said the helicopter plummeted to the ground in the rugged foothills of Mount Ololokwe at 9.13am.
The cause of the tragedy is not yet known. US Embassy representatives are on the ground assisting the investigation.
Duarte is shown in his LinkedIn picture
Duarte was a self-made millionaire, and he got his start in investment banking.
He left the lucrative industry at the age of just 24 to start his own business – George Stone Crab, an international delivery service of stone crabs from his home turf in the Florida Keys.
The business earned him a place in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2016, and the magazine praised his company for becoming ‘the largest distributor of Florida stone crabs to Latin America.’
Duarte also founded two more Miami-based food businesses, My Ceviche and Zuuk Mediterranean Kitchen, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The executive lived a glamorous life in Miami, attending red carpet events with his wife, Nicole Valls, 43, who he was married to for almost five years.
Duarte’s father told the Daily Mail he is ‘devastated’ by the news of his son’s death
The aircraft plummeted to the ground in the rugged foothills of Mount Ololokwe in northern Kenya at 9.13am, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority
Duarte left a lucrative career in investment banking at the age of just 24 to start his own business – George Stone Crab, an international delivery service of crabs from the Florida Keys
They lived with their two young sons in a four-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion in the affluent Coral Gables neighborhood located close to downtown Miami.
Suárez, the president and general manager of several Telemundo-owned stations in Florida, also died in the crash, according to NBCUniversal, which owns Telemundo.
The 55-year-old executive was remembered by the outlet as ‘a visionary leader committed to expanding and growing Telemundo’s markets’ during his 18-year career with the company.
He was identified in a message to employees by NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde.
‘José was an exceptional colleague and mentor to many,’ Conde said.
‘He cared deeply about his teams, the communities they served and the essential role our stations play in people’s lives.
‘He brought energy, humor, warmth and a strong sense of purpose to his work, and his impact was felt far beyond the stations he led.’
Ecuador’s National Assembly said that Michele Sensi-Contugi Ycaza, the country’s director general of the national intelligence center, and his wife Stephany Hollihan Vásconez also died in the crash.
Florida-based Telemundo executive José Suárez has also been named among the dead
The helicopter crashed in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, which is home to roaming wild leopards and elephants, making it a popular destination for wildlife tours
The Kenya Red Cross also said that its emergency response teams were ‘participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams work to access the crash site’
The helicopter crashed in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, which is home to wild leopards and elephants, making it a popular destination for wildlife tours.
The aircraft, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, 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 it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.
The Kenya Red Cross also said that its emergency response teams were ‘participating in a multiagency response effort as rescue teams work to access the crash site.’
Helicopter crashes are becoming increasingly frequent in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry dependent on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant locations.
