Police Chief, Banker Linked To KSh 3.5b Fraud Among 9 Killed In Helicopter Crash

• On Sunday, September 8, a military chopper carrying El Salvador police chief Mauricia Arriaza clashed
• The helicopter was also carrying Manuel Coto, the man accused of embezzling over KSh 3.5 billion sacco funds
• President Nayib Bukele declared three days of mourning and called for a speedy investigation into the crash

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

San Salvador - Details have emerged regarding the identities of the passengers who perished in a military helicopter crash in Pasaquina district, El Salvador.

Why was Manuel Coto in the chopper that crashed?

The military released a statement indicating Police Director Mauricia Arriaza was among the nine people who died in the Sunday, September 8 crash.

CBC News reported that Manuel Coto, a banker who had been arrested on charges of multi-million-dollar embezzlement, was also among the people killed.

Preliminary investigations show the police chief was escorting Coto when the helicopter went down in the Pasaquina district near the border with Honduras on Sunday evening.

Coto, who was accused of embezzling $35 million (KSh 3.5 billion), had been arrested earlier on Sunday in Honduras after attempting to flee to the United States.

What President Nayib Bukele said

The military reported that the crash resulted in the deaths of seven others, including three police officers, three servicemen, and a justice ministry employee.

President Nayib Bukele called for an investigation, saying the crash cannot remain a simple 'accident'.

"What happened cannot remain a simple 'accident. Your legacy will remain forever in our minds, and your tireless dedication to the transformation of this country will live in the hearts of thousands of Salvadorans," Bukele said.

Francis Ogolla's chopper crash

In April, then Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Francis Ogolla, died in a chopper crash.

President William Ruto confirmed the incident in a televised address to the state on the evening of Thursday, April 18.

Ogolla was onboard a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) plane that crashed in Keben on the border of the Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke