Family mourns Kenyan student who drowned while swimming in Australian lake

Piece by: CYRUS OMBATI

14 September 2023

• The 23-year-old student has been studying in Perth since March this year.

• The incident comes months after another Kenyan student died on a swimming trip in the same country.

A Kenyan family is mourning their relative who drowned while swimming in a lake in Stockton, Newcastle.

According to police, Orville Kimutai Tures drowned in Stockton Lake in the western Australian town of Shotts on Saturday, September 9.

The 23-year-old student has been studying in Perth since March this year.

He went swimming at around 3:15 p.m. when the accident happened.

Police said Tures could not be assisted by the public who were in the lakeshore.

“The male required assistance in the water and was unable to be helped by members of the public on shore. Police attended the scene and commenced a search,” read a report by the Western Australia Police Force.

Police divers found the student’s body on Monday.

Tures’ family has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to repatriate his body back to their home in Kapteren, Keiyo North in Elgeyo Marakwet County.

“The family in Kenya is mourning their beloved son who is miles away. We would like to respectfully request your support and prayers during this difficult time. The late Orville's body is still with Bunbury police,” the family said on the crowdfunding platform.

The incident comes months after another Kenyan student died on a swimming trip in the same country.

Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen, who was also new after arriving in Australia in November 2022, drowned in February 2023, according to 9News.

Emergency services were called to the Georges River at Macquarie Fields after she "failed to resurface" while swimming.

New South Wales (NSW) Police said that they searched the water to find her.

"Traffic and Highway Patrol officers entered the water with members of the public and began searching the water where the woman was located and brought to shore," NSW Police said.

Paramedics from NSW Ambulance performed CPR on the woman, but she could not be revived.

She was a student at the Australian Catholic University-North Sydney.

Sharon who was from Moiben, Uasin Gishu, was laid to rest after her family and friends set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to repatriate her body to Kenya.