Image: Screengrab
A tanker driver who was trapped inside a vehicle washed by swirling floodwaters has a story to tell after a successful rescue mission.
The man whose identity remains unknown was saved by a helicopter belonging to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is an organisation that operates an orphan elephant rescue and wildlife rehabilitation programme in Kenya.
Through their website, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said the Galana operations manager raised the alarm at 4:30 pm on Wednesday that the tanker which was being driven across the Galana-Kulalu causeway had been overwhelmed by the swollen river.
The man is said to have been trapped since 10 am making the man cling onto the top of the Tunker even as the crisis intensified.
The water had pushed the tanker to its side, smashing the windscreen and engulfing the cabin.
“It was only a matter of time before the river engulfed the entire vehicle. Onlookers watched helplessly from the shore, horrified but unable to intervene, as the current made any sort of crossing impossible,” the trust said.
Image: Screengrab
The trust acknowledged that flooding is a constant threat during the rainy season hence difficult to predict when or how quickly water levels will rise.
The call from the Galana operations manager made the trust to dispatch Taru Carr-Hartley, who is the aerial unit on the rescue mission.
Taru who was accompanied by Roan Carr-Hartley flew the SWT helicopter to the scene to rescue the driver from the danger that lurked due to the raging river and the petrol fuel tanker.
“They could immediately spot the breached truck, dwarfed by the angry river. As they flew closer, they were relieved to see the driver, still hanging on,” the statement said.
When they spotted the driver, Taru then steadily and slowly flew the helicopter down towards the truck, as low as six inches.
Roan stepped onto the tanker, grabbed the driver's hand, and helped him onboard.
He was then evacuated to safer grounds in what the trust has described as a 'high-stakes rescue mission that ended with the best possible outcome'.
