NAIROBI – Seven bodies have been recovered after a tour group was swept away by a flash flood in Hell’s Gate National Park- Kenya on Sunday, September 1.
The seven dead were part of a 13-strong group that was visiting the park, AFP news agency reports.
According to BBC News, one survivor, Ivraj Singh Hayer, told AFP that his wife, cousin, his cousin’s wife, a niece and a nephew all died.
“At around three o’clock [15:00 local time, 12:00 GMT], water came out of nowhere,” said the survivor.
“It’s still difficult for me to understand how exactly this happened. We were trying not to get caught by the water but my family; they were taken one by one.” added the survivor.
After the incident, which happened during heavy rains, two survivors from the group reportedly alerted park rangers who sent out a search party and a helicopter.
“Since the last similar tragedy in 2012, we have created and clearly marked emergency exits along the whole gorge as escape routes in case of danger like the flash floods,” tweeted The Kenya Wildlife Service(KWS) which manages the park.
Many Kenyans are angry that the incident appears to have repeated itself and some are questioning whether the park should remain open during the rainy season, the BBC’s Ferdinand Omondi said.
