A sudden and violent flood has claimed at least seven lives in Hell’s Gate National Park in Kenya. Today’s storm hit tourists and their guides, most of whom were dragged along by the fierce swirling water and mudflow.
Among the victims are six tourists from India and their Kenyan guide. One of the bodies has been recovered before the lives of the other six are feared.
In a message on Twitter, the Kenyan game park administrator KWS speaks of a ‘tragedy’ in which an unknown number of tourists are probably drowned. The search for the victims, coordinated by the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism, will continue tomorrow.
Dangerous
The group of six Indian tourists and their guide was in one of the gorges in the park when the storm broke out. According to a well-known Kenyan blogger, it is well known that Hell’s Gate is a life-threatening place in the rain. “If it is raining anywhere in Kenya, just avoid Hell’s Gate National park gorges. Doesn’t matter whether you have paid the most expensive tour guide in the south of Sahara. Anyone who’s ever been down there will tell you for free that if water comes, you are done,” Polycarp Hinga writes on Twitter.
Hell’s Gate is the only wildlife park in Kenya where you can go walking or cycling on safari. This is possible because there are no lions and other dangerous large game in the park. The wildlife park is known thanks to Tomb Raider, the American-British action-adventure film from 2018 with Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. Hell’s Gate was one of the settings for the film.
