(Nairobi) More than 20 people drowned on Saturday when their bus heading to a wedding was swept from a bridge by a swollen river in central Kenya, police said.
Onlookers shouted as the yellow school bus hired to lead a church choir and others to a planned ceremony in Kitui County overturned and sank as the driver attempted to navigate the breaking waters.
Some people on the bus managed to escape before it was quickly engulfed in water and were taken to safety.
“We had this terrible, terrible accident that happened here this morning,” Kitui governor Charity Ngilu told reporters.
She added that “23 bodies” had so far been removed from the river and “there are still bodies on the bus”. She said the search for the bodies of the victims would resume on Sunday morning.
Mme Ngilu said 12 people were rescued, including 4 children.
The precise number of passengers who were on the bus when it swung into the swollen Enziu River, about 200 km east of the capital Nairobi, was not immediately known.
The bus was transporting members of a church choir and villagers to a wedding at the time of the crash.
Witnesses said the bus driver attempted to cross the bridge as it was flooded with water, the force of which swept over the vehicle in swirling currents.
Vice President William Ruto offered his condolences to the families of the victims, urging motorists to exercise extra caution on the roads of Kenya, where many areas experience heavy rains.