Garsen member of parliament (MP) Ali Wario, his Galole counterpart Hiribae Buya and 16 others have been rescued from the flooded Tana River delta.

This was after the Tana River County Commissioner Mohamed Hassan confirmed that the leaders were safely rescued in the early morning of Sunday, December 3. 

“We have stayed alert the entire night to ensure that everyone who was on that boat is rescued,” said Mohammed.

The MPs were part of a team that was distributing relief food using a private boat when they were swept away to an unknown destination by the flooded Tana River. 

At the same time, the County Commissioner thanked all parties involved in the rescue exercise.

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“I would like to thank everyone who was involved in this rescue mission particularly the Red Cross who had sent the first boat and they even got lost four times but luckily they found the missing persons,” he said.

Initially, Interior cabinet secretary Kithure Kindiki had announced that a multi-agency team, spearheaded by the Red Cross, had been dispatched for the rescue mission.

Kindiki was responding after a video circulated on social media showing the two MPs appealing for help after the incident.

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The legislators, their aides and two members of the County Assembly (MCAs) were distributing food to floods victims when they got lost in the river on their way to Garsen. 

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The incident occurred at a time when the country was experiencing El Nino rains that had caused flooding, killing several people as others were displaced.