For Vincent Musila, a man who was trapped on a river island at the Fourteen Falls on the River Athi, being alive can only be a miracle.

For three days, Musila was surrounded by squalling waters threatening to sweep him away. 

Besides the threat from the raging river, he had to endure hunger, rain, mosquitoes and dangerous animals including crocodiles and hippopotamuses.

“Swimming across the river was not an option as the current was dangerously fast,”Musila said on Sunday after he was rescued by a police helicopter.

He said he had gone fishing on Friday evening when the weather was perfect, with no signs that there would be a flood. 

But as the night progressed, the river started to swell due to heavy downpour upstream.

The waters soon swept away his fishing canoe and he had to seek refuge in an island within the river.

What he thought would be a few hours of discomfort, however, turned into a three-day waking nightmare.

Several attempts to rescue him, including by officers of the Thika Town fire department were unsuccesful. On Sunday night, a police chopper finally lifted him out of his nightmare.

“I will never go back to fishing at night. I have been taught a lesson but the most important lesson I have learnt is that God performs wonders,” he said.