A 15-year-old girl drowned in Laikipia, after she fell in a swollen seasonal stream in Ereri village in Segera location on Tuesday evening.
The girl and a friend were heading back to their homes from a nearby shopping centre and are believed to have decided to use a short cut across the plains and the victim was trying to cross the swollen stream where she was swept by raging waters. Efforts by her friend to rescue her were futile.
The Laikipia County Police Commander, Maxwell Nyaema while confirming the drowning incident said that a search had commenced for the girl who was identified as Sipato Narerio.
“A search party comprising of villagers and the police is currently scouting the area in a bid to help retrieve the body,” Nyaema said today at his Nanyuki office.
He added that the incident was reported at Ngare Ng’iro police station that is about 10 kilometres from the scene of drowning by area Assistant chief, Silas Meshami who later mobilized residents to try searching for the body of the girl.
Nyaema cautioned residents to be careful when crossing rivers or going near dams as they run the risk of drowning now that heavy rains were pounding the region.
By Wednesday, the girl’s body had not been retrieved as the search team extended the search to the crocodile-infested Ewaso Ng’iro River where the stream empties its waters.
The incident comes at a time when many lives have been lost and property destroyed following heavy torrential rains pounding most parts of the country.
By Martin Munyi
