Howard “Butch” Kerzner, chief executive officer of resort developer Kerzner International Ltd., died yesterday in a helicopter accident in the Dominican Republic, the company said in a statement. He was 42.

Kerzner was surveying for potential hotel sites. Kerzner International owns the Atlantis casino resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and seven One & Only Hotels around the world. He took over from his father and company founder, Sol, as CEO in 2004.

The company was bought out by the Kerzners and a group of investors from shareholders for $3.2 billion plus debt in August.

Kerzner is survived by his wife, Vanessa and two children, aged 8 and 5, the company said in the statement. Another passenger and two pilots also died in the accident.

Paul O’Neil, a board member and former Kerzner executive, will become acting CEO, the Paradise Island, Bahamas-based company said.

Kerzner was born in South Africa and grew up in Johannesburg. He had a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University.

Kerzner’s family had developed resorts including Sun City in South Africa. Before joining his father’s company as a director in 1992, Kerzner worked at a unit of Lazard Ltd., the investment bank.

Under Kerzner, the company was developing a $650 million Atlantis casino in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and was one of three bidders for Singapore’s second casino-resort. The company is also spending $600 million to expand its Bahamas flagship.

Kerzner International is part owner of a Rhode Island greyhound racetrack with nearly 5,000 slot machines. The company also owns resorts in the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius.

In Singapore, Kerzner International partnered with CapitaLand Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest developer, to bid for the Singapore casino. Capita-Land announced yesterday that the bid would go forward.