Two Drown While Enjoying an Afternoon Boat Ride in Chinga Dam

Aug 17, 2023 - 05:48

Residents and divers mill at the Chinga Dam, the scene of a drowning incident where two young men met their death when the boat they were on capsized due to the strong winds.

Nyeri

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

KNA by Wangari Mwangi

A search operation is currently underway to retrieve the bodies of two young men among them a high school student believed to have drowned at the Chinga Dam in Othaya Nyeri County on Tuesday afternoon.

The accident occurred when a rowing boat carrying four young men who were out to enjoy an afternoon boat ride capsized upon reaching the middle of the dam owing to strong winds. Witnesses say that while two were able to swim their way to the shores of the dam, the other two drowned on the spot.

“At the time of the incident a fish monger and another boat rider were the only people at the scene but they did not manage to rescue the other two men who could not swim,” said Peter Gathogia who was among the first divers to arrive at the scene.

One of the victims, 21 year-old Zaphan Gichora is said to have recently acquired his motorbike and is said to have left together with his mobile phone at the shore before joining his three friends for the boat ride. The other victim who was only identified as King’ori is a form three student at the Gathera Secondary School in Chinga.

By Wednesday afternoon, the rescue mission which is being undertaken by divers from Kiambu County and divers from Othaya constituency had not yielded fruit. During the morning hours, the rescue mission had to be halted owing to the freezing temperatures that proved unbearable for the divers to plunge into the dam which spans 200 metres and is 100 metres wide.

At the same time, locals have appealed to the county government to put up perimeter fence around the dam to prevent future tragedies. They have also asked the county government to train and equip local lifesavers with the appropriate gear since a team of divers had to be called in from Kiambu County to help with the retrieval mission.

“As local divers we would have carried out the retrieval if the necessary equipment was availed to us, we lack equipment such as oxygen tanks and a speed boats. The dam will not be closed down or be relocated to a different location, therefore the county should put in safety measures to ensure that we are prepared to deal with such accidents in future,” said Daniel Njogu.

Courtesy ; K. N. A