Garsen Member of Parliament Ali Wario and Galole counterpart Said Buya Hiribae have been located and successfully rescued. They were part of a group of 16 individuals who went missing during a rescue mission in the Tana River on Saturday.
Tana River County Commissioner Mohammed Noor stated that the team was located in the middle of the Tana Delta by skilled individuals.
“They were somewhere in Mlima Abo, the GPRS showed they were 22km from Garsen, but when we tracked them along the river, we could not see them,” he said.
Mohammed Noor explained that initially, two boats were dispatched in an attempt to locate the team, but they were unsuccessful. Fortunately, a third team managed to find them manually. Mr. Noor assured that all 18 individuals on the boat were now safe.
“By the time we found them, it was 4am and they had left the main channel of the river for another route where they docked,” he said.
“We didn’t know where we were, the river has burst its banks and all the villages are flooded, so any route looks like a shortcut and that’s where we went wrong,” Galole MP said.
The MP mentioned that returning to the main route was not an option due to the dwindling fuel and associated risks. Nevertheless, he expressed gratitude for the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Defence, the Navy, and the Kenya Red Cross, which ensured their safe return to the base.
“It is not easy to survive the Tana River at this time but I am confident that our government is prepared for such incidents based on the efforts we have witnessed,” said Said Buya Hiribae.
