Maureen Ongwae
13 August 2007
Nairobi — She could not fight back tears of joy as she was finally airlifted from a marooned boat. It had been four days of staring at the endless expanse of water all around her.
Christine Pai was among seven passengers on a boat that had been trapped by the water hyacinth weed, which has returned to Lake Victoria with a vengeance.
She and the other six people had boarded the boat on Wednesday at Mfangano Island to attend a market day in Homa Bay town. Little did they know that they would not make it to their destination.
With each passing day of their ordeal, the sun gave way to cold nights, which ushered in swarms of mosquitoes. Sometimes torrential rains pounded them. All the while, painful cramps in their stomachs reminded them that they had not eaten for hours.
Christine explains that trouble started when their boat ground to a halt. No fuel, explained their captain, who rang his colleagues in Homa Bay town to bring him more.
They watched in despair as the water hyacinth formed a ring around their boat, marooning it.
As she thought about all the things that could go wrong as the lonely boat sat in the middle of the water, Christine was struck by fear.
It was the first time she was trapped in water on a still boat and she could only think of her two children back home.
Their efforts to try and sail the boat hit a dead end as the hyacinth grew thicker. The women in the boat cried and begged for God's mercy.
On day two, the rising sun came with a lot of hope for the forlon group, which hoped it would be their lucky day, but that was not to be.
Under the scorching sun, they spent yet another day. Two people had mobile phones and they made several calls to seek help from their relatives and the Government.
Well wishers sent a boat with fuel but it also got stuck in the hyacinth. A parliamentary seat hopeful, Mr Peter Ouma Muga, sent another boat with food for the victims but it got stuck as well.
"We became very hungry and the only food we could turn to was raw omena (tiny fish) and the dirty water in the lake," says Christine.
As if being hungry, at the mercy of hundreds of mosquitoes, enduring the unbearable heat of the sun and the pounding rain, the group had to contend without any sleep. They were afraid of attacks from sea animals, especially snakes, which could easily slip into the boat.
The routine of day turning into night was torture for the marooned eight.
"We had no choice now and we even called the provincial police boss and our MP to come to our rescue," says Christine.
She continues: "Word reached us that the police were on their way from Kisumu to help us. We could see their ship from a distance but unfortunately, they too got stuck in the weeds."
On Saturday, seeing that no help was coming their way after four days, the women hit on an idea that they, as mothers knew, would surely bring help.
"We made contact and lied that we were accompanied by a two-month-old baby who had already started showing signs of malaria, and also that a second baby had just been born," says Christine.
Sure enough, the "picture" of two babies dying as their mothers watched was so disturbing that on the same day, the Nyanza provincial commissioner sent a message that a helicopter was on the way to rescue them.
Soon, a Kenya Air Force chopper was hovering above them, surveying the lake so that rescuers could strategise on the best way to get them out.
Back on the beach, ululation and shouts of joy filled the air from thousands who had gathered to witness the return of the boat's occupants.
However, mother nature was not finished with them yet. The heavens opened and torrential rain started falling.
A man and two women who had started showing signs of sickness were rescued first and immediately rushed to Homa Bay District Hospital for treatment.
And now that help had arrived, some of the victims dreaded the prospect of being tied with a rope with the strong wind pummelling them as they dangled over the open water. They started arguing on who should go first on the second rescue mission. And then, the chopper ran out of fuel.
"As I braced myself, I watched over the sky but saw the aircraft disappearing into the horizon. Immediately I received a call from someone who said the chopper ran out of fuel and would return the following day for the rescue," says a man identified as Jeremiah.
He took the bull by the horns and decided that when the chopper returns, he would go first.
He could not contemplate another night in the water. But there was nothing that he could do but to brave themselves and pray harder that the night ends quickly.
The passengers dreaded spending another night in the water.
But finally, yesterday at 5pm, the rescue operation resumed.
As the victims were raised above the waters and slowly lifted into the helicopter, the people on the beach, who were watching the rescue through binoculars, bubbled with joy and cheered them on with excitement.
"As I was lifted up at around 500 metres above the water, a chill went down my spine as I thought that the leash could break loose and I being plunged into the water.
But I said a prayer and before I could open my eyes an army officer at the door of the helicopter held me and pulled me inside," says Christine.
So happy was she that she says she thanked God for giving her a second lease on life.
Business in Homa Bay was slow for the five days because most of the residents gathered on the beach to await the return of the boat passengers.
Just to make sure that the residents got a good picture, an organisation in the town provided the eye witnesses with binoculars so that they could see the victims closely.
A greater percentage viewed in turns on the victims as they all clamped together in the boat.
Residents said that it was the second time in the history of the town that the incident occurred, the first being in 1997.
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