Nairobi — A clap of thunder and a sudden furious storm turned an otherwise enjoyable school outing into a national tragedy. The events of April 2 this year still remain firmly etched in the minds of the survivors, the Hospital Hill Primary School community and many Kenyans. FRANKLIN AWORI writes

The accident on Lake Baringo, which claimed the lives of seven parents and a teacher, is a sad reminder of the uncertainty and risks that await travellers on Kenyan waters.

Ben Nyutho, a survivor, knows that the calm and tranquil lake or ocean waters can suddenly turn into a deadly storm. Nyutho and fellow survivor Anne Kibuthu cannot explain the sudden change in weather on the lake that turned a happy occasion into a nightmare for the school.

The group, as on earlier expeditions, had left Nairobi to enjoy the natural attractions at Lake Baringo that brings hundreds of people to the area every month. "The weather was perfect for sailing and we set out to have fun," recalls Nyutho, who was on his fourth trip on the lake.

The group hired two motor boats and everything went according to plan, until a few minutes before the end of the expedition, when things took an ugly twist.

"We were on our way back to the shore when the weather suddenly changed and it started raining heavily," recalls Nyutho, the school's librarian.

With a flash of lightning, the calm and welcoming lake turned hostile and furious. A storm, accompanied by thunder and heavy rains, tossed the boat around, as the coxswain desperately tried to keep the vessel under control. "We were completely taken by surprise and left fighting for our lives," said Nyutho.

The worst happened when the engine failed. "That's when I realised we had lost it," says Nyutho. The boat bounced and danced on the waves before capsizing, tossing its 10 occupants into the water.

Kibuthu, a parent at the school, recalls being thrown quite some distance away but she fought the waves and swum back and held on to the boat. She clung firmly to the boat, occasionally turning to Nyutho, and they encouraged each other to remain firm despite an assault by waves. "I looked at Nyutho and saw he was losing grip. I told him, 'Ben, please don't leave me'," Kibuthu recalls. Nyutho, who at one time came close to giving up, answered: "God will not let us die."

For about 20 minutes, they struggled to stay alive, praying and hoping that a rescue team would arrive in time to save them. Help did come eventually, but by then eight of their colleagues had drowned. The second boat, which was carrying the school's deputy headmaster, Eliud Mbuthia, and 10 other people, cut through the waves and managed to reach the shore safely.

Mbuthia and his group could only watch helplessly as their colleagues struggled against the waves due to extreme turbulence. "It was by the grace of God that we managed to reach the shore," said Mbuthia, who was full of praise for local fishermen and residents for their efforts to rescue their colleagues.

Nyutho believes safety equipment would have made a difference. "We would have saved some people if the boat had floaters," he says. He still breaks into a cold sweat every time he thinks of travelling by boat.

But the lake Baringo tragedy is just one of the many Kenyan lake and ocean trips that end in catastrophe and unnecessary loss of lives. In early September, a ferry stalled mid-ocean off Mombasa, causing panic and reviving memories of the Mtongwe ferry accident that killed more than 200 people. The April 1994 tragedy remains Kenya's worst maritime disaster.

On Lake Victoria, the 1996 sinking of mv Bukoba in Tanzanian waters that killed about 600 people set off a heated debate about maritime safety and brought to the fore the region's lack of disaster preparedness regarding water transport.

The ship was said to be overloaded and its sea worthiness came into question due to lack of proper and regular maintenance. But even before the shock of the Bukoba incident had sunk in, eight children and their mother drowned in Busia when their boat capsized after being hit by strong winds.

In 1997, 40 people died when their boat capsized between the Lake Victoria ports of Homa Bay and Asembo Bay in Siaya district. The boat had 46 passengers and was carrying 46 bags of maize and four bags of sugar.

Seventeen people also died in November 2000 when a motor boat capsized. The boat hit a stalled craft and overturned on impact.

On October 23, 2003, the lake claimed more lives when an officer ferrying examination papers to an island in Suba district drowned when their boat capsized. A primary school deputy headteacher and a student also died in the tragedy.

These are just a few of the boat tragedies that have turned local waters into huge tombs.