NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 5- The death from the Enziu River bus tragedy rose to 30 Sunday after 7 more bodies were retrieved.
The bus was taking a church choir and other revellers to a wedding in Kitui County on Saturday when it keeled over and sank beneath fast-flowing waters as the driver tried to navigate a submerged bridge.
Twelve passengers managed to scramble to safety but most aboard the stricken bus were unable to escape before it was swallowed by the muddy tide.
Kitui governor Charity Ngilu said 31 bodies had been retrieved since Saturday by military divers, but warned the toll could rise further as the search and rescue operation continued.
“Today we have been able to retrieve seven. We still have more bodies in the bus,” she told reporters late Sunday.
“It is very, very sad indeed. We have lost so many lives.”
It remains unclear how many passengers were aboard the bus when it tipped into the Enziu River, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Nairobi.
Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu said 7 bodies were retrieved after a day-long search that involved the military, Kenya Red Cross, Police, National Youth Service (NYS), county fire department and locals.
The bodies retrieved Sunday include a nine-month-old baby who were among a group of locals and a church choir that was headed to a wedding when the tragedy occurred. Most of the dead were members from the same families or relatives.
“Seven bodies were retrieved today but the death toll could increase because there people who are missing,” Ngilu said, updating an earlier toll of 23.
Two of the 23 bodies retrieved Saturday from the river were buried Sunday at the Mwingi cemetery in line with Muslim traditions.
They include a 42-year-old mother and her son aged 26.
Local authorities said a search for more bodies would resume Monday following the tragedy that occurred on Saturday, with fears that as many as 20 or 30 more bodies could be under water after reports indicated that the bus may have been carrying at least 60 people.
23 of the bodies were pulled out of the mud on the edge of the river Saturday even as rescue teams worked to retrieve the wreckage of the bus stuck below the surface of the raging water with an unknown number of people trapped inside.
12 were rescued when the bus ferrying a Catholic church choir and villagers to a wedding plunged into the swollen river.
Onlookers screamed as the yellow school bus hired to take a church choir and other revelers to a wedding ceremony in Kitui County keeled over and sank as the driver tried to navigate the surging waters.
Some aboard the stricken bus managed to escape before the bus was quickly submerged, and were helped to safety.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday warned Kenyans to avoid swollen rivers during the heavy rainy season after more than 23 people were killed when their bus was swept away in River Enziu.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta sends his heartfelt condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incident in Mwingi, Kitui County when a bus they were traveling in plunged into River Enziu,” a dispatch from State House stated, “The President wishes quick recovery to those that were injured in the unfortunate incident.”
He “reminded Kenyans across the country to heed Government advisory against attempting to cross swollen rivers especially during the current rainy season.”
Grief-stricken residents at a bridge in River Enziu where a bus was swept away on December 5, 2021 killing dozens.
It remains unclear how many passengers were aboard the bus when it tipped into the Enziu River, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Nairobi.
Witnesses said the driver had stopped to negotiate the river, and was close to the other side when the bus was swept beneath the churning currents.
Deputy President William Ruto and Opposition chief Raila Odinga were among those to extend their condolences, and also urged motorists to apply extra caution on the roads with many parts of Kenya experiencing heavy rain.
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