At least 23 people died this Saturday (4) after they drowned in the Anziu River while passing through the town of Mawingi in Kitui County, about 200 kilometers from the capital Nairobi. Kenya,
Officials fear that the number of victims may rise further when the search operation resumes on Sunday (4), as some bodies were trapped inside the vehicle. On the other hand, 12 people – four children and eight adults – were rescued alive.
“For now, as it is getting dark, we are asking people to return to their homes, and we will start operations from tomorrow,” Kitui governor Charity Ngilu, quoted by local newspaper “The Star” declare.
As for “The Nation”, the bus belonged to a religious group of Mawingi, and the passengers were on their way to celebrate the wedding. Ngilu offered condolences to the families of the dead and said the bodies recovered were carried by the Kenyan Air Force to another nearby town of Mingui and Kiso.
According to “The Star”, the bus driver may have tried to cross a flooded section of a bridge over the Anziu River, but the vehicle eventually overcame the water flow, causing it to be washed away. It is not immediately known how many passengers were in the more than 50-seater vehicle, but it could have been overloaded.
