CEO of Nigerian bank 1 of 6 killed in San Bernardino County helicopter crash
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. - Six people were killed Friday night, after a helicopter crashed in San Bernardino County, according to officials, including the CEO of a Nigerian bank and his wife and son.
The Eurocopter EC 130 helicopter crashed around Halloran Springs Rd. near Baker, California, around 10 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9. There was a reported rain and snowstorm at the time of the crash. According to officials, the helicopter had taken off from Palm Springs and was headed toward Boulder City, Nevada.
While officials originally reported that there were "several" fatalities as a result of the crash, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department confirmed Saturday that all six people onboard the aircraft had died.
Authorities at the scene of the helicopter crash in San Bernardino County.
Law enforcement hadn't identified any of those on board, but Nigerian banking officials confirmed the deaths of Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank, his wife and son, and Bimbo Ogunbanjo, former chair of NGX Group, the Nigerian stock exchange.
Their deaths were confirmed Saturday by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister who is now the director-general of the World Trade Organization.
The identities of the other two people on board were not confirmed.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating what caused the crash. In a press conference Saturday night, officials said the helicopter did not have a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder, nor was it required to.
No further information is available at this time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing news story. Stay with FOX 11 for the latest.