The CEO of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, and his son are believed to be among the six passengers in a helicopter that crashed in the US early Saturday Nigerian time (late Friday local time).

The New York Times reports that a total of six people were in the helicopter that crashed near the California-Nevada border.

No survivors have been located as of the time of this report.

Access Holdings, owners of Access Bank, have yet to confirm Mr Wigwe’s death as of the time of this report.

However, people close to the banker told PREMIUM TIMES he and his wife and son were among the passengers in the helicopter.

The Eurocopter EC130 helicopter crashed around 10 p.m local time near Nipton, Calif, an unincorporated community approximately 60 miles south of Las Vegas in eastern San Bernardino County, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department were notified of the downed aircraft at 10:12 p.m. local time, according to Mara Rodriguez, a public information officer with the department. She added that the crash site was located east of Interstate 15, near Halloran Springs Road.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the ill-fated Flight N130CZ, operated by Orbic Air LLC, took off from Palm Springs, California, at 8:45 pm but was last seen near Fort Irwin/Barstow, California, at 21:49 pm, Friday.

What exactly led to the crash of the Airbus Helicopters EC-130 remains unclear.

The National Transportation Safety Board (N.T.S.B.) and Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) are investigating the crash. Representatives from the N.T.S.B. are expected to arrive at the scene on Saturday.

•Premium Times