(Reuters) – A helicopter crash in Southern California resulted in the deaths of six people, including the group chief executive of one of Nigeria’s largest lenders, authorities said.
The crash occurred around 10 p.m. near Nipton, California, with six people on board, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization, confirmed the deaths of Access Bank Group CEO Herbert Wigwe and Nigerian Exchange Group’s former Chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo in a post on X.
“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,” Okonjo-Iweala said on X.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department reported that the crash occurred east of the 15-Freeway near Halloran Springs Road, with no survivors found as of Saturday.
The helicopter involved in the crash was identified as a Eurocopter EC 130 by the FAA, which also announced that it would investigate the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The helicopter was en route to Las Vegas when it crashed near a border city between Nevada and California, according to multiple reports.
Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Edited by Andrea Ricci
