Two friends from California and a political consultant from Colorado were among five people killed — including another American — when their chopper crashed during a sightseeing flight in Kenya, according to reports.

The US Embassy identified the three as Anders Asher Jesiah Burke, Brandon Howe Stapper and Kyle John Forti. The fourth American has not yet been identified.

The pilot of the Bell 505, Mario Magonga, also was killed when the helicopter crashed moments after takeoff from Lake Turkana’s Central Island National Park in northwest Kenya, officials said.

Burke and Stapper, both entrepreneurs, were best pals from San Diego, according to CBS News 8.

Burke ran two companies, an ad agency and a political campaign firm, while Stapper launched a printing company after moving to San Diego from Michigan, according to the Daily Mail.

Forti, a married father of one, was originally from Claremont, California, before he moved to Colorado, where he co-founded a political consulting company, the news outlet reported.

“Kyle Forti was a prolific figure in Colorado Republican politics,” said friend Peter Marcus, a former Colorado Springs Gazette reporter, according to the Denver Post.

“There are not enough good words for Kyle. Kyle dedicated his entire career making a better Republican Party. He ran a lot of Republican campaigns,” he added.

Forti was an adventurer who had traveled the globe including recent trips to Asia and the fateful visit to Kenya, Marcus said.

Colorado’s El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf took to Facebook on Monday to mourners the loss.

“I am saddened by the loss of Kyle John Forti, a friend of mine and an Old North End Colorado Springs resident,” VanderWerf wrote. “He was a great Republican, co-founder of D/CO, a consulting firm, helped me in my campaign, and lived in my County Commissioner district. He was also just simply a decent guy! He will be missed.”

The tourists were headed for Lobolo Camp on the mainland when the helicopter went down about 8 p.m. Sunday, officials said.

Magonga, who owned the aircraft, was a former Kenyan military pilot and also flew for the country’s deputy president, William Ruto.

“Available information indicates that two helicopters had landed earlier at Lobolo tented camp on the National Park’s Island, however one managed to clear the area safely,” the National Police Service said in a statement, according to the Daily Nation.

“They were unable to land because that place is very hilly. We don’t know why they were trying to access the island at night. One of the helicopters crashed as they attempted to find their way back to Lobolo,” a source at the Kenya Wildlife Service told the news outlet on condition of anonymity.

With Post wires