A university student who survived the deadly Chesegon landslide on the West Pokot/Elgeyo-Marakwet border in April, which claimed more than 20 lives, Thursday recounted how she had a close brush with death.

Ms Nancy Pyatich, 23, a third year education student at Moi University, who was discharged from the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret where she was admitted on April 20, recalled that on the fateful day, she at Chesogon centre.

“It started raining moderately at around 4 pm and I started hearing unusual sounds from the river. I was in a shop when two men came running towards the centre, shouting that things would get worse that evening and that we should run. We immediately started gathering some documents, including the certificates of my brother who had graduated earlier, and some money,” she said.

Ms Pyatich says they started running towards the Marakwet side, only to realise that the river there had burst its banks and was carrying away houses and debris.

“The centre is surrounded by four rivers, two permanent and two seasonal. We decided to run to the Pokot side but the river there was also overflowing, so we decided to climb a mugumo tree, like other people were doing,” she adds.

Unfortunately. her last-born brother could not to climb the up fast enough and as she reached out to help him, she was swept downstream.