MAKUENI:7 PEOPLE SWEPT AWAY BY FLOODS AT RIVER MUOONI

7 people are feared dead with the toll likely to rise after floods in the Mutyambua area swept a group of Makueni natives travelling from Nairobi.

The victims were crossing the swollen river in the Mutyambua area when their makeshift vessel was swept away.The efforts to recover the bodies of 7 people killed by floods in River Muooni in Makeuneo were ongoing up to the morning of friday,November 24.

The victims were crossing the swollen River Muooni aboard  alog when it was overpowered by the currents.Kavuthu Chief Norman Musyoki said the bodies were yet retrieved.

The 7 were part of large group returning home after a meeting with first lady Rachel Ruto in Kasarani,Nairobi.On reaching Kavuthu Township,sources said they ignored warnings that the river had swollen following heavy rains that had lashed the region for hours.

The accident forced dozens of other members of the team who had travelled from Nairobi to spend the night in Kavuthu Township.After daybreak some of them joined a rescue operation led by the Kenya Redcross and a team of emergency services from Makueni county Government who were deployed in the area to rescue their friends, relatives and neighbours.

The Muooni River which rises in the Kilungu Hills, is one of the most dangerous rivers in the region during rainy season. Mr Musyoki had already given warnings to the residents not to cross the Muooni River and other rivers that swell unexpectedly after rain upstream.