Kenyan boy trapped by floods saved in dramatic rescue

A five-year-old boy who had been marooned by floods was on Tuesday rescued by a police helicopter in Yatta, about 120km (75 miles) from Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The boy "had been left behind by his father when the water level started rising," police said.

The International Centre for Humanitarian Affairs, a non-profit, captured the boy's location using drones. The organization then alerted the police, who sent a rescue helicopter from Nairobi.

An initial attempt to rescue the child by boat had failed due to unfavourable weather conditions, the Kenya Red Cross said.

"The child, visibly shaken by the ordeal after being stranded for quite a long period, was safely rescued and taken to a nearby hospital for care," it added.

Heavy rains have been pounding Kenya and wider East Africa in recent days, triggering severe flooding and widespread devastation.

In Kenya, flooding has occurred in 23 of the country's 47 counties, trapping dozens.

More than 188 people have been saved since the onset of the floods, the Kenya Red Cross said on Tuesday.

It added that the flooding has displaced just over 11,200 households, submerged 27,716 acres of land, and killed over 4,800 farm animals.