Bodies of four boat tragedy victims pulled out of river

Search teams have retrieved four bodies of people who drowned when their boat capsized in River Nzoia in Budalang’i constituency.

Officers from the Marine Police, Fisheries Department and residents, retrieved the bodies of Scovia Abungu (5), Feril Atieno (7), Shadrack Ojwang’ (9) and 24-year-old Florence Ogonda.
Five other people are still missing.

Ms Hellen Akello who lost her three children, wailed on receiving the remains of her two children, both pupils at Rugunga Primary School.
The search team leader Stephen Osogo said the operation would go on until all the missing people were accounted for.

He said four boats were involved in the search and hoped to retrieve the remaining bodies before the weekend.

TRAUMATISED FAMILIES

However, he said some of the bodies could have been swept 4km away into Lake Victoria.

“We are appealing to the National Government and aid agencies to help us in the search and counsel traumatised families and survivors,” he said.

The ill-fated boat was heading to Mau Mau from Port Victoria Shopping Centre with 18 passengers when the accident occurred. Nine passengers were rescued.

Among those still missing are boat operators Brian Olobo and Vitalis Olobo, both Form Three students at St John Osogo.

It is believed some bodies might be trapped under a tree stump which the boat hit before it capsized.
Busia County Assembly Members Tuesday criticised the National Government’s response to the tragedy.
Speaker Bernard Wamalwa said members were upset by the government’s failure to send a team to lead the search.

“It’s awful that the government has not sent divers and the military to help in the search and psychologists to counsel the affected people,” he said.

Mr Wamalwa said when such disasters occurred elsewhere, the government responded quickly and took care of funeral expenses and medical bills of victims but in Budalang’i no meaningful effort was being made to help.

“We are searching for our people ourselves yet there is a military barrack at Hakati, a few kilometres away. Nobody seems to care about the affected families,” he said.
Mr Wamalwa said the government needed to speed up construction of a bridge on the lower side of River Nzoia to link Bunyala South and North.

Deputy Speaker Moses Ote said failure by the government to respond at the appropriate time was the reason some Kenyans were agitating for a referendum for more funds to be devolved to the counties.

COMPENSATION

Bunyala North ward rep Fred Musirimba said he would demand that the affected families be compensated by the National Government.  

“Year in year out our people have died because of neglect on the government side and this time around we demand that the affected families be compensated,” said Musirimba.

Families and relatives are still camping at the scene, four days after the accident expressing fears that the rescue team may not be able to find their loved ones due to lack of proper equipment and skills.

It is believed that some bodies could have been trapped under the river, near a tree stump which the fateful boat, that was overloaded, hit before it capsized.

Rescuers have started loosing hope of finding the missing bodies saying normally when such incidences happens bodies start to float after 24 hours.
Until Tuesday evening, only two kids from one family had been retrieved.
ends