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A swimming expedition for two high school students in Lari, Kiambu county turned tragic after they both drowned in a local river. 

Brian Kiiru ,17 and Brian Githinji ,18 drowned on Monday evening as they tried to save one of their friend who had stuck in the river.

Elvis Njuguna ,17, a student at Lenana School who was saved by the two Brians told Standard Digital that he took the first dive in water, but got stuck in the mud forcing him to call his two friends to come rescue him.

“When I got stuck, I called them to come and help me and they came and successfully pushed me out, I held on to nearby vegetation and crawled out of the river,” he said.

Njuguna, however, said while on his way out, he turned back, but failed to spot his two friends.

“When I reached a safe place and looked behind but never saw any of them, I knew something was wrong,” he said.

Njuguna said he tried calling them to no avail before rushing home to alert neighbours, a trip that took him about 30 minutes.

The two who share the first name are from the same village with their homes a few metres apart.

The villagers ran to the river but it was too late as the two had already drowned.

Their frantic efforts to retrieve the bodies hit a snag prompting them to call in Kiambu firefighters who arrived at around 6pm and retrieved the bodies.

At Kiiru’s home, there was a sombre mood with villagers speaking in hushed tones as they tried to come to terms with the loss.

According John Mburu, Kiiru’s brother, his brother left home around 4pm to join his friends for swimming never to return.

“It is usual for young boys here to go for swimming in the river, they also take pictures there and enjoy nature what we never knew is that the same place is a death trap,” said Mburu.

Kiiru’s mother Teresiah Nyambura described his son as an energetic boy who was full of life.

“He was full of life and now he is no more, my spirit is wrecked as all my plans for him have been dashed,” she said.