The driver of the bus involved in a tragic accident that left atleast 20 dead on Saturday, December,4 had refused to cross River Enziu in Kitui County which was flooded, a survivor has now said.
In a narration by Simon Kea, the driver was under pressure from the passengers who were heading to a wedding and did not want to get late for the function.
The driver said he was afraid since he was not familiar with the bridge and he feared for the worse but they still insisted that he should cross.
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“When the passengers saw that two matatus had already crossed the river and a lorry they insisted that the driver should as well do the same,” Kea said.
He further revealed that the bus was overloaded and even had some of the passengers standing along the walk-way.
This is after more passengers who had been left stranded by the over-flowing river banks boarded the bus hoping to get assistance in crossing to the other side.
According to him, the bus had almost 20 passengers who were standing.
“We were more than 60 in the bus when it overturned right inside the river, many people were also standing along the walkway,” Kea said.
Kea said that he did not know how to swim and his life was saved by a diver who immediately jumped into the waters when the bus overturned.
“I am really grateful that the diver saved my life, I really thank God for sparing my life,” he said.
By Sunday morning, 23 people had been reported dead while 10 others were saved by the divers who were on a rescue mission following the accident.
The survivors are currently fighting for their lives at the Mwingi Hospital.
Currently, officers drawn from the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) have been deployed to assist in rescuing more people.
According to Joseph Yakan who is the Mwingi East Sub- County Police Commander- the rescue mission has already kicked off.
“The rescue mission was postponed on Saturday evening as it was getting late and already it has kicked off,” he said.
A number of political leaders sent their heartfelt condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in the accident.
They include; President Uhuru Kenyatta, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga, Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris.
