•Achoki said they have called off the rescue operations after accounting for all the 45 passengers.
•He said 10 people injured in the accident were receiving treatment at Chuka County Referral Hospital, some in critical condition.
Image: COURTESY
Police have called off rescue operations at Nithi Bridge in Tharaka Nithi, where an accident that has so far claimed 35 people happened.
Eastern regional commissioner Evans Achoki on Tuesday confirmed 35 people have so far died following the Sunday accident.
Achoki said they have called off the rescue operations after accounting for all the 45 passengers who were aboard the bus during the accident.
He said they pulled the wreckage of the bus from the river on Monday.
"The death toll has risen to 35. We were able to remove the wreckage of the bus from the river valley yesterday," Achoki told the Star on the phone on Tuesday.
"We have called off the rescue operations, all of the 45 occupants have been accounted for," he said.
He said 10 people injured in the accident were receiving treatment at Chuka County Referral Hospital, some in critical condition.
Eyewitnesses said that the Mombasa-bound bus was travelling from Meru Town when the accident occurred.
Kenya Red Cross on Sunday was able to rescue some of the victims, who were rushed to the hospital.
The injured have been rushed to Chuka County Referral Hospital and PCEA Chogoria Mission Hospital.
The accident happened just a month after National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) released a report on the increasing number of deaths following road accidents.
According to NTSA, about 2,211 have died on Kenyan roads between January and June this year, compared to 1,988 who died around the same time in 2021.
Some 608 motorcyclists died in the same period this year as compared to 569 in 2021, while 362 passengers died in the past six months as compared to the 326 in 2021.
The number of drivers who have died from accidents remained constant at 210.
788 pedestrians have died between January and June this year as compared to 651 last year.
Pillion passengers who have died have increased to 211 compared to the 182 who died in 2021.
32 pedal cyclists died in the period as compared to 50 who perished last year.
Speeding, according to police, has been the main cause of the crashes.
Reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, drunk walking, drunk riding, and failure to use helmets among other issues have also been attributed to the increase in crashes.