CEO of Nigerian bank, family killed in helicopter crash in California’s Mojave Desert
The Airbus EC130 helicopter was en route to Boulder City, Nevada, which is not far from Las Vegas
Six people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border late Friday night, including the CEO of a major Nigerian bank, his wife and their son, as reported by CNN.
The disaster claimed the lives of Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife and son, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairperson of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, according to a post on X by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Authorities also reported that both pilots of the chopper died during the incident.
According to CNN reports, the rented Airbus EC130 helicopter was traveling from Palm Springs, California to Boulder City, Nevada, which is located not far from Las Vegas.
The aircraft, flown by the California-based charter business Orbic Air, took off at around 8:45 p.m. PT and crashed in the vicinity of Interstate 15 in Halloran Springs, California, shortly after 10:00 p.m.
San Bernardino police said the chopper crashed late Friday approximately 93 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, near a small town in the desert.
Authorities said the helicopter crashed en route from Palm Springs Airport to Nevada. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
According to witnesses, the chopper caught fire right after the incident.
Source: Newsroom
