Emanuel is a 26 year old Tanzanian national who has been the youth leader at St Klara Church where Pastor Beatrice Kamau is based. At St Klara, there is a Swahili congregation where Swahili speakers especially from East Africa normally meet for worship. Since he came from Tanzania about a year ago, Emanuel has been a member of this Swahili congregation where he was well liked.
On Wednesday this week, Emanuel went swimming at the shores of a lake in Södertälje. He was together with his girlfriend and another colleague.
According to information gathered by KSB, Emanuel first jumped into the water, surfaced and swam a little before coming back to shore. He then took a second dive and all went well. He swam and later got out of the water. When he dived into the water for a third time, tragedy struck.
His friends noticed that he had taken an unusually long time to come out of water (about four minutes). They raised the alarm and some two Swedish boys who were around came to the rescue. They jumped into the water to try and look for him but they failed to locate him. At this point, the Ambulance and other rescue squads had been alerted.
Members of the first rescue team to arrive at the scene jumped into the water but did not find him. This was a specialist diving unit with special equipment. Soon, a helicopter crew arrived and joined the search. Eventually, Emanuel was found. It emerged that Emanuel appear to have been swept away by the waves which moved him from the original point where he entered the water making it difficult for rescue operations to trace him.
When he was found, he was still alive and there were several attempts to revive him. Emanuel was flown to hospital as medics tried to revive him on the way. At the hospital, attempts to save his life continued. He was put on a respirator but unfortunately, nothing could be done further to save his life because he was already brain dead.
An “Open House” has been called at Ottersongvägen 7 in Södertälje where friends, sympathizers and well wishers will begin to raise funds for the transportation of Emanuel’s body to Tanzania for burial.
Emanuel was the only boy child in his family which must be going through a very difficult moment. KSB sends deep condolences to Emanuel’s family during this time of great shock and sorrow. We hope that the family will have the strength to go through this difficult moment.
Okoth Osewe
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