Thirty-four people died in central Kenya when their bus veered off a bridge and plunged into a river valley, local media reported on Monday.
The Daily Nation and Standard newspapers reported that the incident occurred on Sunday evening in Tharaka Nithi County, when the bus belonging to Modern Coast company traveling from Meru to the port city of Mombasa veered off the Nithi Bridge, plunging into the valley 40 meters below.
"Up to now, we have lost 14 women, 18 men, and two girls, so the total deaths are 34. We have rescued 11 who are undergoing treatment in hospital," Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner Nobert Komora told NTV Kenya television near the crash site.
The National Transport and Safety Authority, Kenya's transport regulator, had ordered all buses belonging to Modern Coast to suspend operations pending an investigation into the crash.
Nation reported Komora as saying that initial investigations showed the bus's brakes may have failed, preventing its driver from properly turning on a sharp bend at the bridge.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that 4,579 people died in road accidents in Kenya in 2021, a 15% rise from a year earlier.