3 family members drown in Kwale

Three members of a family died after they drowned on Friday evening at Zigira dam in Kwale County.

Among the three is an 8 year old girl who was the first to drown while swimming with friends.

Her 35 year old male cousin and her uncle died in the subsequent rescue efforts.

Kenya navy divers have managed to retrieve all the 3 bodies.

An eyewitness, Juma Kitondo, who was among the first to arrive at the scene says that the two men drowned while holding the girl who had gone on a swimming expedition at the Zigira dam with her friends, as they tried to rescue her.

A rescue team led by Kenya Red Cross Society officials, police officers and county officials are said to have arrived at the scene at 7 pm but upon assessing the situation agreed to commence the retrieval of the bodies on Saturday morning.

Divers from the Kenya Navy moved in Saturday morning to assist retrieve the bodies.

They successfully retrieved all the 3 bodies.

The dam which is a project of the Kwale International Sugar Company is said to have no outlet hence making the water levels go high.

Residents have urged the county government to ensure there is a fully equipped standby rescue team to handle such emergencies.