Nine drown after boat capsizes

Turkana, Kenya: Nine people have died after a boat capsized in Lake Turkana over the weekend.

Turkana Central OCPD Joel Kirui said the boat which was headed to Kalokol from Namukuse sank on Friday night. He said 17 people were on board when the incident occurred.

"It is sad that we lost nine people. Fortunately, eight of them swam to the shore and were rescued. The nine, who included women and children, could not swim. We found six bodies that night and the remaining three on Saturday," said Mr Kirui.

Kirui said as the boat was heading to Kalokol, a baby fell into the water and as other people jumped in to save the child, the boat tilted and got filled with water.

"It was reported that after the baby fell, some people jumped out of the boat to rescue it. The boat lost balance and got filled with water, causing it to sink," said Kirui.

He added that the boat was reported to have been overloaded.

But according to a local, James Esinyen, heavy winds might have contributed to the accident.

The OCPD urged the locals not to overload boats to prevent such accidents.

The survivors were taken to hospital and released after check up.