Helicopter crash in California, 6 including major Nigerian bank CEO killed

California: At least six people, including the group chief executive of one of Nigeria’s largest lenders, were killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California.

According to reports, the six people were on board the helicopter when it crashed around 10 pm on Friday night near Nipton in California.

Following the incident, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization, confirmed the death of Access Bank Group CEO Herbert Wigwe.

He took to his official X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Terribly saddened by the news of the terrible loss of Herbert Wigwe, Group CEO Access Bank, his wife and son as well as Bimbo Ogunbanjo in a helicopter crash.”

After the accident, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said the scene of the crash was determined to be east of the 15-Freeway, near Halloran Springs Road. Meanwhile, no survivors of the accident are located so far.

Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the helicopter was a Eurocopter EC 130. The administration also said it would investigate along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

As per official reports, the helicopter was on its way to Las Vegas when it crashed near a border city between Nevada and California.

In a similar instance, two pilots were killed and a technician injured in a helicopter crash in Turkey‘s Gaziantep province.

Taking to X, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the chopper, registered in the inventory of the General Directorate of Security Aviation Department, crashed in the Kartal village of the Nurdagi district. The helicopter, which departed from the southern Hatay province, was last contacted at 10:49 p.m. local time on February 3.