FOUR people drowned yesterday after the boat they were on sunk in River Tana. The boat was ferrying six people to the other side of the giant river.

"Such incidents are rare in this area. A child was saved by good Samaritans but died at the river bank. The body was taken to Mwingi mortuary for postmortem," Mwingi police boss Simon Lemphasy said.

He said the incident occoured at Kakongo sub location, in Mwingi central. Lemphasy said it was difficult to retrieve the bodies despite the help of experts.

The police boss sais they searched for the bodies for more than twelve hours.

"I am told that as the boat moved an old man stood up and it lost control. control. The man at the helm was not experienced. Two people survived, a three year old child and a woman called Tabitha Munguti ," he said.

Lemphassy said some body organs were eaten by fish. He warned residents to be more careful and make sure the people who control boats are not trainees. The police boss said they should be trained on boats that do not have passengers.