According to residents the boys had spent the better part of the day playing within the field/PETER MWANGI
NYAHURURU, Kenya, Feb 4 – A swimming expedition turned tragic after three children drowned in Nyahururu town on Sunday.
The trio aged between 11 and 15 years were swimming at an abandoned quarry situated within Nyahururu Golf Club when the incident happened.
According to residents the boys had spent the better part of the day playing within the field.
Two of the boys are said to have dived into the quarry at about 4.30 pm when they reportedly drowned.
The third boy is said to have drowned as he struggled to help his two friends stuck in the muddy waters.
A boy with whom they were playing with informed a passerby of the incident who raised alarm that attracted other members of the public within Kasarani village.
Volunteers managed to retrieve the bodies of two boys on Sunday. The third body was retrieved early on Monday.
It took the efforts of the Nyahururu Firefighters to drain the quarry to enhance the rescue mission after it proved impossible for divers to conduct the exercise due to muddy clay soil in the quarry.
Residents took issue with the Nyahururu Sports Club for failing to respond to appeals from members of the public to cover the quarry since it posed a serious danger to the local community.
Led by Chairman of the Kasarani Community Eston Wahome locals lamented that despite effort to raise their concerns with the Sports Club management, their grievances have never been addressed.
The quarry was sunk by a contractor working on the Southern Nyahururu bypass that connects the Nyahururu-Nakuru road and the Nyahururu-Rumuruti road passing through the sports club.
Nyahururu Assistant County Commissioner Wambui Irungu and Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi who witnessed the rescue mission described the incident as unfortunate saying concerted efforts will be put into place to ensure the area is fenced off to avert similar incidents in future.
They however urged parents to ensure they track the movement of their children especially when they are not in school so that they know their whereabouts at any given time.
The deceased bodies have since been moved to Nyahururu County Hospital Mortuary.
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