In this picture taken from a National Transportation Safety Board video, Michael Graham of the NTSB, which is investigating a lethal helicopter crash that occurred in Southern California’s Mojave Desert speaks to the media in Barstow, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. The CEO of one in all Nigeria’s largest banks alongside together with his spouse and son had been amongst these killed in Friday’s crash.

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In this picture taken from a National Transportation Safety Board video, Michael Graham of the NTSB, which is investigating a lethal helicopter crash that occurred in Southern California’s Mojave Desert speaks to the media in Barstow, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. The CEO of one in all Nigeria’s largest banks alongside together with his spouse and son had been amongst these killed in Friday’s crash.

AP

The CEO of one in all Nigeria’s largest banks was killed Friday alongside together with his spouse and son when a helicopter they had been driving in crashed close to Interstate 15 in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.

Herbert Wigwe, chief government of Access Bank, was among the many six folks on board when the plane went down shortly after 10 p.m. All six folks had been killed, together with two pilots and Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chair of NGX Group, the Nigerian inventory alternate.

The deaths of Wigwe, his household and Ogunbanjo had been confirmed Saturday by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister who’s now the director-general of the World Trade Organization.

“Terribly saddened by the news of the terrible loss of Herbert Wigwe … his wife and son as well as Bimbo Ogunbanjo in a helicopter crash,” Okonjo-Iweala wrote in a submit on X, previously often known as Twitter. “May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.”

The demise of Wigwe, 57, shocked many in Nigeria and within the banking sector. He was broadly seen as an trade chief, having been concerned in two of the nation’s greatest banks, together with Guaranty Trust Bank, the place he was beforehand government director.

Under Wigwe’s management, Access Bank’s belongings and presence grew past borders in a number of African international locations.

His demise is “a terrible blow” for Nigeria and Africa’s banking trade, Nigerian presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga wrote on X. “Wigwe had a big vision to make Access Holdings (the parent company) Africa’s biggest, with all the unquenchable thirst for acquisitions,” Onanuga added.

Wigwe’s pursuits additionally spanned the schooling sector. His non-public college, based in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta area the place he was from, is scheduled to open in September. Last 12 months he mentioned the college was “an opportunity for me to give back to society.”

“This is surreal and I am lost for words,” Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s minister of aviation and aerospace improvement, wrote in a submit on X. “May Almighty God comfort his aged parents and sibling … his immediate family members, his staff, friends across Nigeria and dependents.”

The crash occurred south of I-15 close to Halloran Springs Road, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of Barstow, in accordance with Michael Graham of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.

Graham mentioned he didn’t have details about the 2 crew members, a pilot and a security pilot. The plane didn’t have a cockpit voice recorder or a flight information recorder and was not required to have them, he added.

The Airbus EC-130 left Palm Springs Airport at round 8:45 p.m. on Friday and was touring to Boulder City, Nevada, Graham mentioned. Boulder City is about 26 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Las Vegas, the place the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are set to play in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.

It was a constitution flight operated by Orbic Air LLC. Several folks touring on I-15 witnessed the crash and known as 911, Graham mentioned, and he urged them to contact the NTSB with extra particulars, together with photographs and movies.

Witnesses reported that it was raining with a “wintry mix” on the time of the crash, in accordance with Graham. People additionally reported a hearth on the helicopter plus some downed energy strains.

“This is the beginning of a long process. We will not jump to any conclusions,” Graham mentioned throughout a information convention Saturday night time. He additionally “expressed our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.”

The crash website isn’t removed from the California-Nevada border. Halloran Springs Road crosses the freeway in an space recognized to vacationers for an deserted fuel station with an indication declaring “Lo Gas” and “Eat.” It’s a distant space of the desert, with an elevation of almost 3,000 toes (914.40 meters), and a couple of 60- to 80-mile (100- to 130-kilometer) drive from Las Vegas.

The crash got here simply three days after a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter went down within the mountains exterior San Diego throughout historic downpours, killing 5 Marines.