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NAIROBI, June 25 (Reuters) - A small private helicopter crashed on Thursday in the Lamu archipelago off Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, killing one woman on board, police said.

Lamu police chief John Kamau said the chopper went down on Kiwayu island, killing the woman and seriously injuring her husband. They were both Kenyans of British origin.

Kamau had earlier said they were in a light plane, and were believed to be British.

Tail-winds destabilised the chopper as it was trying to land, causing it to hit a tree and burst into fire, he said.

"One of the occupants is confirmed dead," he told Reuters.

The Lamu archipelago is a favourite haunt for rich Kenyans and foreign tourists. Plenty of Westerners keep property there. (Reporting by Celestine Achieng, Writing by Andrew Cawthorne, Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

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