51 passengers found themselves trapped on the roof of their bus after it was swept by floods and had to be rescued in an exercise that took several hours near Tulla Vilage, Tana River County.
The passengers aboard the Umma Express bus were heading to Nairobi from Garissa on Monday night when the driver decided to cross the flooded road section against repeated advise from other drivers and passengers.
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The bus was swept away and got stuck approximately 50 metres from the road. A few passengers managed to jump out of the bus and escape unhurt. The rest took to the roof and held on awaiting help which came in the form of Kenya Red Cross Society.
The society deployed boats to evacuate the stranded passengers to safety.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KenHA) had issued a warning to commuters along the Garissa-Nairobi highway (A3) of flooding in the Arer Area, between Bangaley and Madogo.
1/3 KeNHA informs the public of closure of Nairobi – Garissa (A3) Road due to flooding at Arer Area, between Bangaley and Madogo.
The flooding is as a result of the ongoing heavy rains which occurred last night and has resulted into rising water levels along the entire stretch. pic.twitter.com/jd1wsRzW7z— Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) (@KeNHAKenya) April 9, 2024
According to the constant updates by the Red Cross, all passengers were evacuated to safety and the society was working to rescue other commuters stranded by the flood waters.
All passengers aboard the bus have now been rescued, with priority initially given to women, children, and those who were sick.
However, our efforts are ongoing as we continue to rescue other commuters who were stranded due to the road being cut off at Arer near Tulla Bridge,… https://t.co/KaIVHbNjDx pic.twitter.com/YTKZSojC51
— Kenya Red Cross (@KenyaRedCross) April 9, 2024
