An 11-year-old boy was feared missing on Thursday after a hippopotamus attacked him while he was swimming in the Tana River near Bulla Sheikh, Garissa County.
Police said the Grade Two pupil at Garissa Primary School had gone to the river with several other children at about 4pm.
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The hippopotamus reportedly seized the boy and pulled him into the water, while the other children escaped without injury.
Officers went to the scene after the incident was reported and began searching for the child and attempting to recover him. The Kenya Red Cross was also alerted to support the search and rescue operation.
Police said the search was continuing, with more information expected as the operation progressed.
On the same day, authorities reported the recovery of the body of a Form Three student who disappeared after a canoe capsized during a hippo attack.
The recovery raised the death toll from the incident to three, while more than 15 people were rescued.
In a separate incident, an eight-year-old child drowned at Kiumba Beach in Suba North Sub-County, Homa Bay County, after reportedly entering the water to swim.
The child had accompanied the mother to the beach as she went to wash clothes.
Preliminary police reports indicate that the child moved away unnoticed and entered the water.
Police said the child, who had a history of epilepsy, was overcome by the water currents and drowned.
Officers arrived at the beach and found that members of the public had already recovered the child’s body from the water.
The body was taken to the mortuary at Mbita Sub-County Hospital, where it is being preserved pending a post-mortem examination.
Police are treating the incident as a drowning case.
Meanwhile, a 10-year-old boy died after suffering an electric shock at his home in the Nyamasaria area of Suba North Sub-County, Homa Bay County.
Police said the incident was reported on Thursday, prompting officers to visit the residence.
Initial investigations suggest that the boy accidentally touched the pole supporting a security light inside the compound and was electrocuted instantly.
His body was taken to the Mbita Sub-County mortuary, where it remains pending a post-mortem examination.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the death.
Elsewhere, a 14-year-old girl died after being electrocuted while trying to charge her mobile phone at home in Gwitembe area, Ntimaru Sub-County, Migori County.
The girl was reportedly shocked on Wednesday as she attempted to connect her phone to an extension cable.
Preliminary findings indicate that she used a metallic nail to position the phone charger on the extension cable, bringing her into contact with a live electrical current.
She was taken to Ntimaru Sub-County Hospital but died while receiving treatment.
Her body was later transferred to Wima Mortuary, where it is being preserved pending a post-mortem examination.
Officers from Ntimaru Police Station and DCI Kuria East visited both the scene and the facility holding the body. They established that there were no visible physical injuries.
Investigations are continuing to determine the circumstances surrounding the electrocution.
An eight-year-old boy also drowned at a construction site in Juja B Estate, Nairobi, after entering an excavation filled with stagnant water while trying to retrieve his ball.
The child had been playing near the site when the ball fell into the water.
Police said he entered the construction area and tried to swim to recover it, but drowned.
Officers visited the site, where members of the public helped retrieve the boy’s body.
Police said the body had no visible injuries.
It was taken to Nairobi Funeral Home pending further procedures.
Detectives from DCI Starehe are investigating the death.
