NAIROBI – Fifty-one passengers were rescued after their bus was swept away by floodwaters on a bridge in northern Kenya, authorities said Tuesday.
The bus is stuck in the river about 30 meters from the bridge, although the waters are subsiding, Tana River county commander Ali Ndiema told The Associated Press. He said the road has been closed indefinitely.
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Ndiema said all passengers were accounted for. Police were looking for the driver, who is accused of ignoring passengers’ concerns and insisting on driving through the water.
Police said some passengers escaped just before the bus was submerged, while others climbed onto the roof.
The incident happened hours after Kenya’s roads agency announced the closure of another section of the road that was flooded after the Tana River swelled due to continuing heavy rains.
The government on Monday issued a flood alert to residents of Tana River and Lamu counties after flooding breached a dam upstream.