Three feared dead after boat capsizes in Lake Baringo

Lake Baringo

A view of Island Camp Hotel at an Island in Lake Baringo, Baringo County. Three people are feared dead after a speed boat capsized in the lake.

Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • This is the latest tragic incident at the lake where several lives have been lost in recent years.
  • In 2004, the headmaster of Nairobi's Hospital Hill School and seven parents died at the lake when their boat capsized following a storm.

Three people are feared dead after a speed boat capsized in Lake Baringo on Saturday afternoon.

The vessel, which was carrying 12 people from Kampi Samaki, capsized at 3:30pm while on its way to the famous Kokwa island.

Confirming the incident, Baringo South Sub-County Police Commander Benjoliffe Munuve said four of those in the boat swam to safety.

Nine others were rescued, while three - including the coxswain, one-year-old child and a 16-year-old girl - sunk with the boat.

The boat is said to have been carrying two families who are residents of Kampi Samaki and Kokwa area.

The families were on an expedition to Teddy Bear hotel at the island.

The Sub-County Police Commander said preliminary reports indicate that due to the weight of the vessel, the coxswain accidentally applied emergency brakes when he approached the island and it scooped water which made it capsize.

Tragic incidents

“The boat was carrying 12 who were two families from the locality on an expedition from Kampi Samaki to a hotel at Kokwa Island,” said Mr Munuve.

He said security officers have been dispatched to the scene and they are looking for divers to retrieve the bodies of the trio.

“Due to the waves at the lake and darkness, we will not manage to retrieve the bodies today (Saturday). But we will resume the search misssion early in the morning.

This is the latest tragic incident at the lake where several lives have been lost in recent years.

In 2004, the headmaster of Nairobi's Hospital Hill School and seven parents died at the lake when their boat capsized following a storm.

The same year, a tour guide drowned during a swimming expedition at Devils Island in the lake.

An academic tour also turned tragic in 2011 after two students of Comboni Youth Polytechnic in Gilgil drowned at the lake. 

One of the students slipped and fell back into the swollen lake and in an attempt to rescue him, his colleague also drowned.