A lovers’ outing, on Sunday evening, turned tragic after a man drowned while attempting to swim at the scenic Lake Challa in Taveta Sub County.
The deceased, Mr Marunde Ngondi, had taken his girlfriend for an excursion at the lake.
Ng’ondi was reportedly having a conversation with his lover when he accidentally slipped on a rock and fell into the lake.
Speaking on Monday, the devastated girlfriend, Gladys Gombe, said she was unable to save her lover due to heavy forces of the water.
Her attempts to scream for help fell on deaf ears as a group of swimmers, on the nearby, could not hear her.
“He was overwhelmed by the water. I felt his hand release me and that is when I was able to crawl away to safety,” said the teary girl.
Divers later on came and launched a search operation which was called off due to darkness.
The body was, however, retrieved on Monday mid-morning.
Local residents have urged the government to put in place a rescue team adjacent to the lake saying many people have lost their lives in similar instances.
“We are losing too many people and there is need to have a diving unit for rescue operation being based here,” he said,” said Joseph Ndira a brother of the deceased.
Lake Challa is a trans-boundary fresh-water lake that straddles both Kenya and Tanzania at the border. UK’s Royal Navy and marine researchers from Israel reportedly visit the lake for diving practices.
In 2002, Kenya government banned swimming at Lake Challa after 18-year old Amy Nicholls, a UK-student, was attacked and killed by a crocodile.