Family of Kenyan nurse who drowned in Canada stranded in flying body back home

Hellen ‘Wendy’ Nyabuto was reportedly working as a nurse in Toronto. In the Thursday video which has since gone viral, appears to be in high spirits as she swims from one side of the pool to the other.

The 24-year-old regularly takes intervals after each circuit to respond to comments and answer questions fielded on her live-stream chat.

She at one point makes subsequent trips from her side of the pool to the other but 10 minutes and 30 seconds into the video, she can be seen struggling to stay afloat after she seemingly strayed into the deep end of the pool.

The deceased attempted to make a dash for the side of the pool but she began to slowly submerge. She can be heard gasping for air before her cries for help went silent.

Led by her father, John Nyabuto, Wendy’s family has spoken out about the loss, saying they are struggling to come to terms with the loss even as they try to figure out how to bring her body home for a proper send-off.

“I have cried all through since I got the sad information. Her friends have been calling explaining what happened. I’m wondering how the body will get back to Kenya,” Mr. Nyabuto told the Sunday Standard.

“I have lost my daughter and there is nothing I can do. I don’t know the cost of transporting the body back home, the pain is too much. I request for help. She was my only hope. I educated her through difficult means,” he added.

Based on her Facebook profile, Ms. Nyabuto, who the family describes as “sharp but calm”, graduated from the Toronto Metropolitan University after studying oncology nursing at Pwani University.

Her father revealed that she moved to Canada in 2019 after getting a 10-year study visa to Canada through a Green Card lottery. In the North American country, she was juggling between studies and part-time nursing practice.

“I was happy she had gone to Canada and could assist me in educating her other siblings,” her father said, “She was at least willing to assist her family. God had answered my prayers. She was working part-time to pay her school fees.”

Mr. Nyabuto further intimated that he learned of her daughter’s death through a message from her friend in Canada. He later got a call from Canada informing him that his Hellen had been taken ill and rushed to the hospital.

“Moments later I saw a video clip of my daughter swimming. She was happy. Her colleague at work called and gave the phone to another person who informed me that my daughter had died in a swimming pool not far from where she was working,” he told the publication.

In the meantime, Ms. Nybuto’s body has since been retrieved and ferried to a Toronto mortuary pending postmortem.