Search intensifies for Cheploch Gorge diver swept away by swollen river

The diver, Rodgers Kiplimo from Emsea village in Keiyo South Sub-County, Elgeyo Marakwet County, is reported to have drowned on Saturday morning after plunging into the gorge along the River Kerio.

His family says he has not been seen since.

Relatives, fellow divers and villagers have mounted a search along the river for two days without success, prompting the family to seek assistance from county and national authorities.

Mr Kiplimo is among a group of 16 young men who regularly perform high-risk dives at Cheploch Gorge, located along the busy Iten-Kabarnet road on the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties.

The group has become a major attraction for travellers and tourists who stop to watch the youths leap from the steep gorge, an estimated 70 metres above the river into the crocodile-infested waters below.

Visitors often pay the divers to perform the jumps, with the money shared among the group at the end of the day.

Beyond entertaining tourists, the divers have also earned a reputation for assisting in retrieving the bodies from rivers and dams across the North and South Rift regions due to their expertise in deep-water diving.

But the activity remains dangerous.

Read: Meet the daredevil divers who swim with crocodiles

On the day he went missing, Mr Kiplimo is said to have left home early in the morning to go about his usual activities.

His expectant wife Ms Jeniffer Ng’etich said she last saw Mr Kiplimo when he left their home in high spirits.

“He woke up early and even offered to prepare tea for me and our child before he left. He told me he would return in the afternoon to take me to the hospital because I was unwell,” she said.

However, around 11am Ms Ng’etich received news that her husband had drowned while diving at the gorge.

The expectant mother said her husband had also been unwell in recent weeks and had been advised by health workers to suspend diving until he fully recovers.

“I did not know that he was going to dive that day because he had been told by medics to stop for some time until he recovered,” Ms Ng’etich said.

“Since Saturday, his colleagues and members of the community have been searching along the river, but they have not found him,” said the worried wife.

News of tragic incident

Fighting back tears, Ms Ng’etich appealed for government intervention to help locate her husband.

“I am in so much pain because he was our family’s breadwinner and he has left me with one child. I am also nine months pregnant. Finding him would give us closure,” she said.

Kiplimo’s father Mr Pius Chelimo, said the family received news of the tragic incident later in the day, after the diver had already been swept away by the fast-flowing waters.

Mr Chelimo said the River Kerio was swollen due to the ongoing heavy rains in the region.

“I was informed that my son and three of his colleagues dive into the river in their usual activity to entertain tourists. While the others managed to swim to safety, my son was overwhelmed by the strong currents and swept downstream,” the father said.

Since the incident, family members and volunteers have camped at the gorge while conducting daily searches along the river.

“As we speak, we have been walking long distances along the river every day, hoping to find his body, but we have not succeeded. I am appealing to the government to help us retrieve the body of my son so that we can find closure,” Mr Chelimo said.

He said his son supported both his young family and his parents.

Before leaving home on the day he went missing, Mr Kiplimo had promised to buy building materials to help construct a better house for his father.

“He told me he was planning to purchase timber and iron sheets to build me a decent house,” Mr Chelimo said.

The death has once again highlighted the risks faced by the divers, who perform dangerous stunts without protective gear or insurance cover.

Elgeyo Marakwet County Police Commander Peter Mulinge confirmed the incident, saying the diver is believed to have been overwhelmed by the strong currents.

“We received information that the diver jumped into the gorge on Saturday morning and did not resurface. He is suspected to have been swept away by the swollen river following the heavy rains,” Mr Mulinge said.

Read: Diving on historic Cheploch Gorge in Baringo suspended over deaths

On Sunday, when journalists visited the gorge, exhausted search teams had gathered at the site after combing sections of the river throughout the day.

Residents and the divers also conducted a small fundraiser to help provide meals for volunteers involved in the search operation.

The teams have divided themselves into groups, each assigned to search different stretches of the river downstream.

By Monday evening, the search parties that had left early in the morning had not yet returned to the gorge, where they normally regroup to give updates on the day’s efforts.

The incident is not the first tragedy involving Cheploch Gorge divers. In 2016, one of the divers, Bernard Kipkorir, 26, died after hitting a submerged tree trunk while diving.

He lost consciousness during the jump and attempts by fellow divers to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

His death occurred barely a month after another diver had also died in a separate incident at the gorge.

Despite the dangers, the youth continue to perform the daring jumps, driven largely by the income generated from tourists who stop to watch the spectacle along the scenic Kerio Valley road.

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