A Kenyan man, Bonventure Alfred Ng’ang’a Gitau died after he drowned in Lake Chelan in Chelan County on Saturday afternoon when an inflatable kayak that he was travelling in with a friend capsized.
Gitau and his friend reportedly went into the water in the inflatable canoe north of the dock area then Sheriff’s office received distress calls on the duo at around 2:49pm.
Eyewitnesses said Gitau, who lived in Tacoma, was seen momentarily in the water before disappearing below the surface.
A police report later revealed that Gitau was not wearing a personal floatation device at the time of the incident in the cold lake water.
“The lakes are very cold and the further you go below the surface the colder it gets. Your body is somewhat going to go into a shock scenario pretty quickly and everybody reacts differently. You’re not going to have your faculties very long in that type of situation,” explained Sgt. Kent Sisson.
“Anytime you’re in any kind of vessel, whether you’re a good swimmer or not a good swimmer, wear a personal flotation device because that’ll keep your head above water.”
Gitau’s friend, Jackson Njaru, aged 31, made a lucky escape by swimming to a nearby boat and was pulled from the water, as Gitau’s body was retrieved at around 4:00pm at a depth of about 30 feet by a diver.
“Gitau left Kenya for Washington in September 2018 in search of greener pastures and was working in construction to upgrade the economic situation of his family back in Kenya and leaves behind a 3-year-old son,” said his cousin Lawrence Njoroge, who is in the US.
“Born in 1982, and having landed around 6 months ago and toe the line of adjusting to the life of a new environment, Ngash was not just a dreamer, but a man of action, hard worker, and full of smile and life, a staunch Catholic and humble young man,” part of his tribute reads.
The 35-year-old hails from Mwiki, Kasarani Area.