A Kenyan student studying in Australia has died after drowning in a pool during an outing with her friends in Sydney.

The student, Sharon Jepkosgei Kigen, was new in the country, having relocated there late last year. At around 3.45 pm local time, rescue crews responded to Georges River at Macquarie Fields after she "failed to resurface" while swimming.

Officers who responded to the scene said that Officers from The Traffic and Highway Patrol entered the water along with members of the public and commenced to search the water where the woman was located and brought it to the shoreline.

The paramedics did CPR at the scene to try to save her, but the efforts were in vain as she could not be revived. She was a student at Australian Catholic University-North Sydney. Kigen was from Moiben, Uasin Gishu, and her relatives are now requesting financial assistance to return her body to Kenya for burial.

Her friends and relatives have since set up a GoFundMe site to collect funds, intending to raise Sh2.5 million (AUD$20,000) to return her body to Kenya.

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This incident happened barely a year after another Kenyan health worker died in a swimming pool in Canada. Hellen Nyabuto, a 24-year-old Kenyan, drowned in a swimming pool while on live stream on Facebook. The nursing student was seen speaking to viewers at the pool's shallow end before swimming offscreen into the deeper water.

PHOTO | COURTESY Hellen Wendy

The livestream continued for several hours until other motel guests appeared as they went swimming in the pool. The same swimmers discover Nyabuto's body and contact the motel's front desk.

In October, Hellen nyabuto was laid to rest at her parents' home in Getare-Misesi village, Bomachoge Chache constituency, Kisii County. kenyans online have already raised over 100000 shillings.