Three family members drown in Kwale dam
A map showing Msambweni area in Kwale County where three members of one family drowned in Zirigi dam. GRAPHIC | GOOGLE MAPS
What you need to know:
- One man dived into the dam to rescue her but drowned.
- The two other bodies were retrieved by officers from Kenya Navy.
Three members of one family died after drowning at Zigira dam in Msambweni, Kwale County on Friday evening.
They were identified as Said Gushe aged 35, Hassan Azaro aged 40 and Saumu Mbululu aged 8.
Confirming the incident on Saturday, Kwale County Commissioner Evans Achoki said the two men drowned as they tried to rescue the 8-year-old girl.
The commissioner said the girl was taking a bath at the bank of the dam together with her friends at 6pm when she slipped and fell into the water. Her friends raised the alarm attracting the attention of villagers.
One man dived into the dam to rescue her but drowned. The second man also drowned as he attempted to save the two.
“Volunteers from Kenya Red Cross were the first people to arrive help retrieve the bodies but they failed due to poor visibility as it was getting dark,” he said.
The rescue operation resumed on Saturday morning and the girl’s body was found floating on water.
The two other bodies were retrieved by officers from Kenya Navy.
Village elders conducted a ritual by slaughtering a chicken and poured blood into the dam as a way of cleansing after the deaths.
Villagers appealed to Kwale International Sugar Company that dug the dam to fence it off to avoid such tragedies.
Kwale governor Salim Mvurya said he will meet with the company’s officials to ensure the dam is fenced and warning sighns are erected.
At the same time, Kwale woman representative Zainab Chidzuga supported the idea of having a rescue team which is fully facilitated in the county.
By the time of going to press the two bodies had not been from the dam as more and more villagers flocked around the time a glimpse of what had occurred.
