Seven killed, 8 rescued after boat breaks down off Kenyas Coast

Seven killed, 8 rescued after boat breaks down off Kenyas Coast

Seven people died and eight others were rescued on Monday evening at the Kenyan coast after their boat was struck by strong waves in the Indian Ocean.

The 15 people of Comoros origin were reportedly moving from one island to another in Comoros when their boat was overwhelmed by strong tides causing it to drift towards the Kenyan side.

The survivors were rescued at around 6pm on Monday after fishermen spotted their stalled boat floating on the ocean waters and alerted the Kenya Coast Guard.

“I received a report from fishermen who had gone fishing at the North Kenya bank that they came across a boat which was floating at sea without an engine and it had 8 passengers who were unconscious. The boat was towed to Watamu,” read a section of the signal by KCG from Lamu BMU chairperson Osman Mwambire.

The boat’s engine is said to have dropped into the ocean.

According to the survivors, they were stranded in the ocean for nearly three weeks and were surviving on water alone as they had only carried food that could last them for one day.

The trip they were making was to take them only a single day before tragedy struck.

The eight survivors were taken to a hospital in Malindi where they are recuperating.

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) August 10, 2021

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malindi indian ocean

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