Kenyan Student Sharon Kigen Drowns in Australia

A Kenyan student passed away on Tuesday during a swimming excursion in Australia.

Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen who arrived three months ago in the foreign country to study is said to have drowned at Sydney’s south-west, according to 9News.

The deceased “failed to resurface” while swimming in the Georges River at Macquarie Fields at around 3.45 p.m. local time, prompting emergency services to be dispatched.

“Officers from The Traffic and Highway Patrol entered the water along with members of the public and commenced to search the water where the woman was located and brought to the shoreline,” New South Wales (NSW) Police said.

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Ms Kigen was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by NSW Ambulance paramedics, but she did not survive.

At the time, she was studying at Australian Catholic University-North Sydney.

She was born and raised in Moiben, Uasin Gishu. Her family is requesting financial support to bring her remains back home for a proper send off.

The bereaved family has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise money, with the goal of raising Sh2.5 million (AUD$20,000) to allow for her body to be returned to Kenya.

This is the second instance of a Kenyan drowning abroad in less than six months.

In August, a healthcare worker, Hellen Nyabuto, drowned in a pool in Canada while recording a Facebook livestream, to the horror of friends and family.

Nyabuto was seen in the video conversing with spectators at the shallow end of the pool before swimming into the deep end.

The 24-year-old was buried in October at her parents’ home in Getare-Misesi village, Kisii County.

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