At least 23 people were killed on Saturday (4) after the bus they were traveling in sank in the Enzio River while passing through the town of Mwenge in Kitwe county, about 200 km from the capital, Nairobi, in Kenya.
The authorities fear that the number of victims will rise and rise when the search operations resume on Sunday (4), as some of the bodies were trapped inside the car. On the other hand, 12 people – four children and eight adults – were saved alive.
“For now, as it gets dark, we are asking people to go back to their homes and we will start our operations tomorrow,” the local newspaper, The Star, quoted Kitui Governor Charity Njilu as saying.
As for The Nation, the bus belonged to a religious group from Mwenge, and the passengers were on their way to celebrate a wedding. N’Gelo sent his condolences to the families of the dead and said the Kenya Air Force had transported the bodies that were found to Mwengui and Kiso, another nearby town.
According to The Star, the bus driver may have tried to cross a section of the flooded bridge over the Enzio River, but the vehicle was eventually overtaken by the flow of water, pushing him away. It is not currently known how many passengers were on board the vehicle, which had more than 50 seats, but it could be overloaded.
