In a harrowing account of the chopper crash that claimed the lives of Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ngeno and five others on Saturday, nurse Jacobeth Jeptoo described the chaos and trauma she faced while attempting to save the victims.
Speaking to reporters, Jeptoo recounted how her training guided her actions at the scene.
“I remembered my lecturer, Madam Betty, who once told us that if a patient is dying, you may not add days to their life, but you can help them die peacefully,” she said.
Upon arriving, Jeptoo described the scene as “not a normal sound.” She immediately rushed toward the wreckage, where she encountered bodies with severe injuries.
,“I saw about four bodies. They had severe fourth-degree burns. They had already died,” she said. One of the victims, she noted, still showed signs of life, while another raised a hand but could not speak.
Jeptoo detailed the agonizing minutes she spent trying to save the injured. “The first victim died within about five minutes, bleeding from the nose, mouth, and ears. The second struggled for nearly 30 minutes,” she recalled.
“I truly believed this one could be helped. But the rescue team arrived after about two hours. He died helplessly in my hands.”
With no medical equipment available, Jeptoo improvised using bedsheets and gloves, which she sent her brothers to fetch.
“All we could do was cover their bodies,” she said, highlighting the lack of immediate resources at the crash site.
Despite the danger posed by the fire and the panic among bystanders, Jeptoo said she remained at the scene. “People were telling me to stay away. But I am trained. As much as your life comes first, if you can help somebody, please do so,” she explained.
Jeptoo described the experience as deeply traumatic.
“These were people who were healthy earlier that day. Now they were lying helplessly,” she said. The burns, she added, were so severe that it was impossible to distinguish the victims’ identities or even determine their skin tones.
Her account provides a stark insight into the human cost of the crash and the heroism displayed by first responders in extreme conditions.
While the official investigation into the crash continues, Jeptoo’s testimony underscores the urgency of rapid emergency response and proper rescue equipment in such incidents.