Several feared dead as lorry carrying sand, people swept by floods

A lorry carrying sand and tens of people has been swept by floods at the Muatine River at Sultan  Hamud, Kilome Sub County, towards the Ngoto area in Makueni County.

In a video seen by the Star, a group of people are seen sitting on the back of the lorry as others board it to journey with them.

The group of people aboard the lorry included women, children and males.

On the far end of the bridge, a crowd of people watching the unfolding journey is seen.

Two youthful men are seen flanking both sides of the lorry's back, ostensibly to guide the driver.

The driver appears in control of the vehicle as the journey takes off to a swift start.

He manoeuvres the flooded water easily but after about thirty metres into the stretch, the driver appears to be losing control of the vehicle. 

A group of youths on one end is seen urging the driver to direct the lorry to the left side of the road but in a twinkle of an eye, about four people are seen disembarking from the lorry in haste as it eventually lands into the river.

Helpless passengers are seen being carried away by floodwaters amidst deafening wails from onlookers.

According to an eyewitness Gabriel Ngonyo, four people were rescued.

National Police Service is said to have sent a chopper to the ground to help with the rescue mission.