José Alberto Suárez, the president and general manager of Telemundo Fort Myers-Naples, was among those killed when a safari helicopter came down in northern Kenya on Wednesday morning, NBCUniversal leadership told staff

José Alberto Suárez, the president and general manager of Telemundo Fort Myers-Naples, was among those killed when a safari helicopter crashed in northern Kenya on Wednesday morning, NBCUniversal leadership told employees. He was 55.

Gulf Coast News, the Fort Myers newsroom, reported the death on Wednesday afternoon in a story credited to Derrick Shaw, sourcing the identification to its sister station NBC Miami.

What the aviation authority has put on the record

Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority says seven people were aboard, six passengers and the pilot, and that the aircraft came down at 9.13 a.m. local time in Samburu County. It identified the helicopter as a Eurocopter EC130 B4 and the operator as the Kenyan company Lady Lori.

David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters late on Wednesday that everyone on board had died.

The aviation authority says an investigation is underway. No cause has been stated by anyone, and none is suggested here.

The two available accounts of the route do not match, and both are given as they were said. The aviation authority, as quoted by the Associated Press, has the flight running from the Loisaba Conservancy toward the Ewaso Nyiro area. Lady Lori, in its own statement, described a charter flight from Suyian Conservancy to Mount Ololokwe.

Lady Lori confirmed that its aircraft was involved and said it is cooperating fully with the authorities investigating the crash. The Associated Press reports the helicopter was carrying guests of the travel company &Beyond.

The Kenya Red Cross said search and recovery work was being hampered by difficult terrain and an active fire at the site, and that an additional team had been sent from Isiolo.

Who identified him, and who did not

This part matters and is worth stating plainly.

Kenyan authorities have not released the names of the victims. The Associated Press records that the identities were not revealed.

There is no primary document behind this brief. The aviation authority's own website carried no notice of the crash when this desk read it, so its statement is held only as quoted by the news organisations that obtained it, and the same is true of the State Department statement.

Suárez was named by his employer. NBC News reports that he was identified in a message to employees from NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde. A joint statement attributed to Conde, NBCUniversal Local Chairman Valari Staab and Telemundo Station Group President Jose Cancela was quoted by NBC Miami and by Gulf Coast News.

We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that José was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya. José was an exceptional colleague who cared deeply about his teams, the communities they served and the important 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. Our hearts are with his loved ones, and with all of José's colleagues and friends who are grieving this terrible loss.

The American death toll is not settled

NBC News, publishing at midday Eastern and updating in the early afternoon, reported four Americans killed, attributed to a State Department spokesperson. Gulf Coast News carried the same figure.

The Associated Press, writing later in the day from Nairobi, reported five Americans killed, attributed to the State Department in Washington. NBC Miami also carried five.

The quoted wording of the department's statement is identical in both accounts. Only the number differs, and the later reporting carries the higher one. This desk did not reach the State Department directly and does not treat either figure as final.

Ecuador's National Assembly said in a statement 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, and that the flag would fly at half staff at parliament for three days.

What he ran here

Suárez led Telemundo Fort Myers-Naples along with Telemundo 31 and Telemundo 49 in Orlando.

A Florida native, he spent eighteen years with Telemundo and NBC stations. Before Florida he ran Telemundo operations in San Antonio, Sacramento, Fresno, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Earlier he was director of creative services and programming at NBC Miami, and earlier still a reporter and anchor at stations in Florida, Ohio and Texas.

His work was recognised with a Lone Star Emmy, a Suncoast Emmy, three Emmys for best daily newscast and several Associated Press awards.

What this changes locally

Nothing here closes a road, cuts a service or asks anything of a resident.

What it does is remove the person at the top of one of the two stations covering this market in Spanish, without warning, and leave a Fort Myers newsroom working through it on shift.

The only body that will say what happened is the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, and so far it has said only that it has started.