51 passengers narrowly escape death in Kenya as bus is swept by floods

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Thursday April 11, 2024

51 passengers on board the Nairobi-bound bus narrowly escaped death. PHOTO | COURTESY

Efforts are underway to rescue passengers trapped on the roof of a bus that was swept away by floods on the Garissa-Nairobi highway in Kenya.

51 passengers on board the Nairobi-bound bus narrowly escaped death.

According to Tana River County Commander Ali Ndiema, the 51 people on board the Umma Express bus were travelling from Garissa to Nairobi at 11:30pm when the bus was swept away by floods at Lager Areli.

Mr Ndiema notes that the driver of the bus, Hassan Rage, dared to cross the flooded section against the advice of other drivers, only for the bus to be swept away by the heavy waters 50 metres off the road.

"He took the risk and risked the lives of more than 50 people, which is an offence punishable by law," he said.

However, the district police commander has confirmed that most of the passengers escaped unhurt and a rescue operation was underway for those stuck on the roof of the bus.

Mr Ndiema has called on drivers plying the Garissa-Nairobi route to be alert and avoid driving on flooded sections to avoid killing their passengers.

"These are sections that were broken during the El Niño and should be avoided at all costs when they are flooded so that we do not lose lives on this road," he said.

The Kenya National Highways Authority has since issued a warning to commuters along the Garissa-Nairobi highway (A3) due to flooding in the Mororo area between Madogo and the Tana River Bridge.

According to KenHa, the flooding has affected one lane of the road, posing a high safety risk to road users.

Other roads currently being monitored by KenHa include the Garissa-Mombasa highway at Bilbil and Charidende in Tana River County, which were washed away by the El Niño floods.

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