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Four dead after car plunged in Nyangores River in Bomet
The submerged vehicle at Nyangores River in Bomet after being hit from the rear by a lorry at Tenwek bridge on May 9, 2024. Three people confirmed dead and a child is missing.
What you need to know:
- The accident occurred at around noon at Tenwek Bridge running across Nyangores Bridge on the Silibwet - Merigi road in Bomet Central constituency.
- Mr Richard Rotich the Mugango location assistant chief narrowly escaped death as his vehicle plunged into the river as it avoided a head-on collision with the lorry that was travelling in the opposite direction.
Four people have died after a saloon motor vehicle plunged into Nyangores River in Bomet County after it was hit by a lorry.
An assistant chief survived by a whisker after his vehicle also plunged into the river as he swerved to avoid a head-on collision with the lorry involved in the accident.
A passenger who was in the ill-fated vehicle is said to have swam to safety but a woman, a child and two men were not lucky as they drowned in the process.
“Three people – two female passengers and a man – died in the accident while a child is still missing. A search for the child is ongoing at the Nyangores river,” Mr Musa Imamai, the Bomet Central Sub County Police Commander said.
The commander said that investigations to establish the cause of the accident had started.
Mr Imamai said the bodies had been taken to Longisa County referral hospital mortuary for preservation.
The accident occurred at around noon at Tenwek bridge running across Nyangores bridge on the Silibwet - Merigi road in Bomet Central constituency.
Mr Richard Rotich the Mugango location assistant chief narrowly escaped death as his vehicle plunged into the river as it avoided a head-on collision with the lorry that was travelling in the opposite direction.
“I saw the lorry whose driver appeared to have lost control, wobbling on the opposite side of the road towards the bridge. I swerved to avoid a pothole and a head-on collision with a boda boda rider and another vehicle, but veered off the road and flipped over the bridge,” Mr Rotich said.
“Within seconds, I found myself in the water but the vehicle was not submerged as it was trapped by shrubs. I slowly opened the door and stepped out. It is a miracle I survived” Mr Rotich stated.
Divers from Bomet County Disaster Management unit struggling to retrieve bodies from a vehicle that plunged into Nyangores River on the Silibwet-Merigi highway in Bomet central constituency on May 9, 2024. Three people are confirmed dead in the accident and a child is missing.
As he stepped out, he realised that the other saloon vehicle was being swept away by the raging waters at Nyangores River, a short distance from Tenwek Hospital.
It took more than two hours for officers from the Bomet County Disaster Management unit to retrieve the bodies from the wreckage of the vehicle that was fully submerged in the water of the Nyangores River that had burst its banks due to floods.
The body of one of the victims – a woman – was the first to be retrieved as it appeared to have been ejected from the vehicle.
Hundreds of residents who jammed the scene were reduced to bystanders as divers from Bomet County took charge of the efforts to retrieve the bodies from the river. They had to break the boot of the vehicle to access the bodies.
Police officers who operate a makeshift roadblock a few metres from the bridge are said to have called in officers from the Bomet County government disaster unit.
The lorry involved in the accident was towed to Bomet police station while the salon vehicle was still submerged in the water by press time after the lifeless bodies were removed.
