This archive report was first published on 2 September 2019.
Published on September 2, 2019, a devastating flash flood swept through Kenya's Hell's Gate National Park, claiming the lives of six tourists.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) manages the park, which was also the location of the 2003 film 'Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.'
On Sunday, a group of 13 tourists, including six Kenyans and a foreigner, were visiting the park when they were swept away by the flash flood. Two survivors alerted park rangers, who sent out a search party.
The deep gorges of the Hell's Gate park are often lashed by heavy rains, as seen in 2012 when seven young Kenyans drowned at the same spot in the Ol Jorowa gorge.
According to the KWS, the tour guides have been trained to detect storm water flowing downstream towards the gorge and are accompanied by experienced guides who can alert tourists of impending emergencies and direct them to exit points.
"Every group is usually accompanied by experienced guides who are able to alert tourists of impending emergencies and direct them to exit points," the KWS said.
"Since the last similar tragedy in 2012, we have created clearly marked emergency exits along the whole gorge as escape routes in case of danger like the flash floods," the KWS added.
The park, established in 1984, is also home to three geothermal stations and is located around 100 kilometres northwest of Nairobi and just south of Lake Naivasha.
