Four people perished in a night drowning incident in Kitui County after their car was swept while crossing a flooded seasonal river.
All the four victims were cramped in the back seat. The two survivors were rushed to hospital for treatment and are feared to have gulped the muddy waters as they struggled to get out the river.
By 9am, three bodies were retrieved from the mangled wreck of the van by police assisted by villagers who were milling around the scene.
According to Matinyani OCPD John Sawe, the driver and the front passenger managed to escape the drowning after jumping out of the car and swimming to safety.
“We have identified some of the victims who are two brothers and an engineer working for Prime Telecoms Limited, an IT firm which had been contracted to install Wi-Fi in the offices of county and deputy county commissioners in Kitui County,” said Mr Sawe.
The two brothers were being driven to their Matinyani home after day’s work in Mwingi.
The OCPD said his officers were still trying to retrieve the fourth body which is trapped in the vehicle.
Mr Sawe said the driver seemed to have underrated the depth of the water before taking the risk to cross the flooded water.
