Two children are feared dead after a motor boat that had been used to evacuate them capsized in the River Tana near Idsowe Village of Tana Delta Sub-County on Friday.
One girl is still recuperating at the Garsen Health Centre, where she was rushed to after being found floating among reeds near the scene of the accident.
Tana Delta Officer Commanding Police Division, Ali Riziki said a search party had been dispatched to the area to look for the two children aged one and ten years.
“We cannot as of now confirm whether they are alive or dead, but we are searching for them,” Mr. Riziki told the Kenya News Agency on phone Saturday morning.
Kenya Red Cross Tana River County Coordinator, Gerald Bombe said the three were among five children from one family who had been rescued from floods in Galili village where villagers had spent a night on top of trees and housetops.
Bombe said the motor boat succumbed to strong currents and capsized, forcing the older occupants, who included five rescuers, to swim to safety with two of the children as the other three slipped into the water.
“The team had just rescued the five and were headed to safety when the water currents overpowered the machine boat and overturned it,” he said.
He said the team immediately managed to rescue two of the children as the three went missing in the water, but one was later found floating among reeds and was rescued.
“The child was unconscious but still holding onto reeds in the river. The team administered First Aid on him before rushing him to the Garsen Health Centre, where he is in stable condition,” he said.
He said the search mission had to be called off Friday night as it was becoming increasingly dangerous, but resumed Saturday morning.
The boat had been hired by a local politician to help rescue scores of Galili villagers who have been forced to live on tree and roof tops for the last three days.
By Emmanuel Masha
