Rescuers in Kenya have retrieved the body of a teenager who drowned as she tried to save a man who had got into trouble as he was crossing a swollen river.

Anna Nduku, 19, fell into the Kandisi river near Ongata Rongai, on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday.

She is one of more than 130 people who have died as a result of the flooding caused by the heavy rains that have been falling since October.

Ms Nduku was responding to the cries of help of a man who was clinging to part of a bridge that was under construction.

The man survived but as she tried to save him she fell into the river.

Ms Nduku’s mother, Elizabeth Mutuku, was nearby when the accident happened.

“I saw her struggling in the water and I tried to save her. I called out to her ‘Anna, Anna!’.

“I wanted to throw her a stick to try and pull her out. But the river was swollen and she was being tossed and tossed around and then it swept her away.”

The river was overflowing after a huge downpour that began on Monday. This is part of the rain that has been seen across East Africa in recent weeks.

Residents say this is just the latest in a series of accidents that have seen several people being swept away over the last two years.

An old bridge was removed in 2017 and the new one has not yet been finished. This has meant that residents have been wading through the water and using stepping stones to cross over.

BBC