Seven pupils drown as swimming goes awry in Diani
What you need to know:
- Four bodies are lying at the Pandya Memorial Hospital mortuary in Mombasa while three are at the Jocham Hospital mortuary.
- Sources at the scene told the Nation that the 56 pupils had gone to the beachfront to swim when the tragedy happened.
- Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya lamented that it took divers more than six hours to retrieve the bodies due to poor coordination.
The managers of St Martin Primary School in Kahuro, Murang’a, have dispatched a team to Diani to transport the bodies of seven pupils who drowned while swimming in the Indian Ocean.
Murang'a Catholic Diocese Vicar-General Father Stephen Kinuthia told Nation.co.ke that the team left for Mombasa on Thursday morning.
Four bodies are lying at the Pandya Memorial Hospital mortuary in Mombasa while three are at the Jocham Hospital mortuary.
Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa coordinator John Mwangi said a post-mortem examination would be conducted on the bodies at Pandya Memorial Hospital in Mombasa.
"We are erecting tents at Star of the Sea Primary School (in Mombasa), where the parents will be counselled once they arrive. All the seven bodies will be gathered here for post-mortem," he said.
COAST TOUR
Red Cross and St John Ambulance volunteers, Mr Mwangi said, are set to counsel teachers and pupils who survived the tragedy at St Teresa Secondary School in Changamwe.
The learners, aged between 13 and 15, met their deaths while swimming at the Pavilion Beach, close to the Bidi Badu Beach Bar at the Diani seafront, in Kwale.
Officials from the Kenya Red Cross and divers retrieved the seven bodies Wednesday evening.
One of the pupils who was being treated at Diani Beach Hospital was discharged Thursday morning.
The pupils were on a tour of the Coast as they awaited to sit their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams in November.
Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa Coordinator John Mwangi (on phone) communicates with other officials at Jocham Hospital in Mombasa where three bodies were lying on August 13, 2015. PHOTO | MOHAMED AHMED | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Sources at the scene told the Nation that the 56 pupils had gone to the beachfront to swim when the tragedy struck.
“Normally, there are trained divers who guide people swimming in sea, but the school’s teacher said they had their own person who would guide the pupils,” the sources said.
The pupils, according to the sources, had arrived at 1pm before changing into their swimming costumes and hitting the waters in windy weather.
Witnesses said receding tides overwhelmed some of the swimmers.
GOING GOT TOUGH
“It was at this juncture that some of the seven victims found the going tough and called for assistance, which was too late as the angry sea waves swallowed them,” the sources added.
Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya was among those at the seafront monitoring the rescue operation.
The governor lamented that it took divers more than six hours to retrieve the bodies due to poor coordination.
Additional reports by Mohamed Ahmed, Charles Lwanga and Samuel Karanja.
