Dec 4, 2021: At least 23 people have drowned after a wedding bus in central Kenya was swept away by floodwaters.

“We have this terrible, terrible accident that happened here this morning,” Kitui governor Charity Ngilu told reporters on Saturday.

“The number of bodies that have just been retreived is more than 23. We have more bodies in the bus,” she said, adding that efforts to recover the bodies would resume on Sunday morning.

Ngilu posted on Twitter that he was working with the Kenya Red Cross and law enforcement agencies to “search and rescue as well as rehabilitate.” Twelve people have been rescued, including four children, she said. It was not immediately clear how many passengers were on board.

Mwingi Catholic Church choir members were traveling to the wedding of their male partner when the accident happened in Kitui County.

Eyewitnesses said that the driver was trying to cross the fast flowing water while passing over the bridge but the force was too much, the bus swerved and swept under the current.

Vice President William Ruto was among those who offered condolences, urging motorists to take extra precautions on roads where heavy rains are falling in many parts of Kenya. Authorities say an investigation is under way.

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