NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 5 – The body of a nine-month-old baby was among two more bodies pulled out of the wreckage of a bus that plunged into River Enziu Sunday, raising the death toll to 25.
Local authorities said a search for more bodies was underway following the tragedy that occurred on Saturday, with fears 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 more than 23 people died when a bus was swept away on December 5, 2021.
“We have this terrible, terrible accident that happened here this morning,” Kitui governor Charity Ngilu told reporters on Saturday.
“The bodies that have already been retrieved right now are over 23. We have more bodies in the bus,” she said, adding that efforts to recover the corpses would resume on Sunday morning.
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.
