On Friday, a boat accident at Asat Beach in Kisumu County nearly claimed the lives of four Coast Guard officers.
After attending a presidential function at Mageta Island, the officers were reportedly traveling to Kisumu when the boat overturned.
In a press conference, Kenya Maritime Authority Director General Martin Muga disclosed that the vessel experienced a technical malfunction while returning from Mageta.
The officers were successfully rescued after a swift rescue operation was launched.
“My officers were out during the night monitoring the situation and we are happy that there were no fatalities as all the crew members were rescued,” Muga confirmed.
“This is a happy day for us because at around 8 pm we did not know what was going on out there but it re-emphasizes the need and urgency for a rescue centre,” he added.
According to Muga, the rescue team made contact with the officers at around 1 am after making several attempts to reach out to the victims.
While underscoring the need for a rescue centre near the lake, Muga disclosed that the government would soon provide rescue boats and ambulances to limit such incidents.
The Friday night incident comes a day after President William Ruto raised concerns over the increased cases of deaths of fishermen in Lake Victoria.
According to the Head of State, the country loses close to 5,000 fishermen in Lake Victoria annually due to substandard equipment and gears they use.
During his visit to the Island, the president pledged to build a well-equipped rescue centre near the lake to help reduce fishermen deaths.
“The centres will be well-equipped and will later have a helicopter that will be used to rescue people involved in accidents inside the lake, we will make fishing safe,” the Head of State promised.
