Volunteer diver goes missing during rescue operation in Tana River

A rescue mission to recover bodies of two brothers who drowned in River Tana last Friday turned tragic, when one of the volunteer divers was swept away by the waters.

After efforts to recover the bodies proved futile, Korio Kusow who is a boda boda operator  is said to have arrived at the scene on Saturday noon and offered his services as a diver, never to be seen alive again

However this morning a body of the eldest brother resurfaced and was pulled out of the water and later buried under Islam customs.

According to area Chief Salat Mohammed, the two brothers went for a swimming expedition in the crocodile infested river at around 5:30pm on Friday and never returned back.

Salat said that more than 20 drowning incidents have occurred in the same river in a span of two years and urged parents to closely monitor movements of their kids especially during long holidays.

He said they have tried to seal the entry points to the river in the places where many incidents occurred before but it seems the same young men have identified other places where they go swimming.

Regional Manager Red Cross Mohammed Abdikadir said there has been a major challenge of professional divers in the operation and the few that were there had little technical skills on the exercise.