A helicopter crash in Samburu County, Kenya killed seven people, including four South Florida residents traveling together as friends.

A group of friends from Coral Gables who set off on a safari trip to Kenya did not make it home. Four of them died Wednesday when the single-engine helicopter carrying them from a wildlife conservancy toward a mountain lookout crashed in the country's north, killing everyone aboard.

The helicopter, operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, was flying six tourists from the Suyian Conservancy toward Mount Ololokwe when it went down in Samburu County, according to Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority and the helicopter operator. The pilot, Josh Outram, who was based in Kenya, died along with all six passengers. Search and recovery crews worked into the night after the crash, slowed by rugged terrain and a fire that broke out at the site, officials in Kenya said. The cause remains under investigation.

Among the dead were Roger Duarte, 42, and José Alberto Suárez, 55, along with married couple Adam Hlavaty, 42, and Henry Parra, 55, all of Coral Gables. Two Ecuadorian nationals, Michele Sensi-Contugi, 44, and his wife, Stephany Hollihan, 42, also died in the crash.

Duarte built a career in South Florida's restaurant business. He founded George Stone Crabs, which got its start in Key Biscayne, and was the entrepreneur behind Hospitality Capital Partners. He also co-founded My Ceviche, Zuuk Mediterranean Kitchen and El Tropico Cuban Kitchen. He is survived by two sons. A statement issued on behalf of his family said they were "devastated and heartbroken by the tragic helicopter accident in Kenya" and that "the magnitude of this tragedy is impossible to comprehend."

Suárez, who grew up in Coral Gables, was the president and general manager of Telemundo's stations in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers. NBCUniversal News Group said in a statement that he "brought energy, humor, warmth and a strong sense of purpose to his work" and that "his impact was felt far beyond the stations he led."

Hlavaty and Parra were married in 2017 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Hlavaty was a real estate executive, vice president of development for Benihana, and sat on the board of the Coral Gables Art Museum. Parra was a software executive who co-founded Trax USA, an aviation software company based in Coral Gables. Rev. Eddie Rodriguez, an interfaith minister who officiated their wedding, recalled the couple this week in Coral Gables. "There are couples that stand out for you, and they certainly did," Rodriguez said. Friends of the group described Hlavaty and Parra as "a loving couple who cherished their time together, especially traveling, making memories, and enjoying life with their family and friends," adding that they were "hardworking, generous, and deeply committed to serving and giving back to their community."

Sensi-Contugi was director of CIES, Ecuador's strategic intelligence center, and was a close ally of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. His wife, Hollihan, was a fashion designer from Guayaquil who founded Sensi Studio and worked to promote Ecuadorean artisans who weave with "paja toquilla" straw, exhibiting their work in the United States and Europe. A spokesperson for the Latin American Fashion Summit called her "a true visionary and an extraordinary force."

Noboa addressed the couple's deaths directly in a statement posted Thursday. "There was nothing more important to them than their children," he wrote in Spanish. "We know how much they loved them and everything they dreamed for them, and as long as we're here, they'll never be alone. We'll take care of them and stand by them, just as we know they would have done for ours."

Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement that its "deepest sympathies are with the guests, crew, their families and loved ones and all those affected by this tragic accident," and confirmed the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

The seven who died, Suárez, Duarte, Hlavaty, Parra, Sensi-Contugi, Hollihan and Outram, had been traveling together through the conservancy before boarding the helicopter for the short flight to the mountain. Duarte's family identified Suárez, Hlavaty, Parra, Sensi-Contugi and Hollihan as close friends who had made the trip together, with Outram as their pilot.

In Coral Gables, where three of the four Florida victims lived and built their careers, friends and colleagues continued gathering this week to share memories of the group. Kenyan aviation authorities have not released a timeline for their investigation into what caused the crash.