A man was on Sunday evening rescued by the Kenya Police chopper after he was reportedly stranded for more than two days on the flooded River Athi in Kiambu County.
The man, Vincent Musila, was lucky to be airlifted to safety after he was said to have spent more than two nights and days marooned in the flooded fourteen falls due to heavy rains.
In a video that was shared by the Kenya Police, the man was rescued in the middle of the flooded river as the locals watchED while cheering.
Reports from various sources indicate that Musila, a fisherman, had gone to lay his fishnets on a section of the river using his canoe that fateful evening around 9 pm.
However, as the night progressed, the river began to swell and even swept his canoe as he sought refuge in a small island where he remained trapped for two days.
.@NPSOfficial_KE Airwing at work.#ServiceWithDignity#UtumishiKwaWote
Video| Courtesy pic.twitter.com/54ljB2UanE
— Kenya Police Service (@PoliceKE) December 1, 2019
In the videos and photos making rounds on social media, Musila is seen stranded on the decreasing island as the river’s water volume increased.
Swimming across the swollen river seemed to be out of option for the man as the water currents were so strong.
Hope the guy was rescued from the wrath of the Fourteen falls, Thika 😧😧😧 @KenyanTraffic @RoadAlertsKE @K24Tv #eyewitness pic.twitter.com/ndNFnzRcBI
— Eric Njoka Ledama 🇰🇪 (@eriknjoka) December 1, 2019
After massive concerns from the onlookers, area leaders including Thika Town MP, Patrick Wainaina, acting Kiambu Governor James Nyoro and Ngoliba ard MCA Joachim Njama were forced to intervene where they contacted the Interior Ministry, which sent a chopper to the scene.
At long last, the helicopter carefully made its way to the scene where it managed to whisk away to safety the stranded man.
Following the successful rescue operation, MP Wainaina took to social media to express his happiness at the same time thanking the police for acting swiftly.
Subsequently, on Sunday, Kenya Police, through Airwing boss Col (Rtd) Rodgers Mbithi, announced that five of their helicopters are on standby to evacuate those marooned by floods due to heavy rains.
Kenya Red Cross Society has also confirmed that it had scaled up emergency support for communities affected by flooding and landslides in the wake of heavy rainfall pounding many parts of the country.
Kenya’s semi-arid counties have borne the brunt of flooding and landslides occasioned by unusually heavy rainfall experienced since October.