Rescue operations have resumed in Kerio Valley where KDF is airlifting more injured people for treatment n Eldoret.
CS for Public Service and Special Programs Geoffrey Ruku, his interior counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen and Governors from the North Rift region are at the Eldoret Airstrip to coordinate assistance to affected people.
Murkomen said the search and rescue would be stepped up to ensure all the missing are accounted for.
He said the number of the dead remained 21, with another 30 people still missing.
Murkomen said the government was offering all forms of support to the community in the region and was also looking for long-term solutions for those in mudslide-prone areas in the region.
”We have a number of long-term measures to resolve the issue of mudslides, but we will work with residents moving forward,” Murkomen said.
Ruku said the government would cover all costs of the exercise as per the instructions of President William Ruto.
“We will take care of all costs, including treatment of those injured, burials and after that we will also help resettle those displaced,” Ruku said.
He said the multi-agency team working in the area would not leave the region until all those missing are accounted for.
He said the state was also airlifting all necessary aid, including food and medicine, to assist over 500 displaced families.
“We have strict instructions from the President to ensure we assist the residents who are going through a difficult time following the tragedy,“ Ruku said.
He was government spokesman Isaac Mwaura, governors Wisley Rotich, Stephen Sang, Jonathan Bii and also PS for Treasury Chris Kiptoo.
Murkomen said extra KDF teams had been deployed in the region, and the government was grateful to all those who had helped to intervene in the situation.
Mwaura said KDF had deployed four choppers to help in rescue operations and that counties in the region are donating aid, including machinery to help open up roads in the region.
The team led by Ruku then flew to the region to oversee the rescue mission.
The leaders condoled with the families of the deceased and wished a quick recovery to those injured.
Two more elderly people were airlifted to Eldoret and taken to the Moi Referral Hospital where 25 others were admitted.
Earlier, 15 bodies of victims of the mudslides in Elgeyo Marakwet were to be airlifted to Eldoret, as the state also moved food and medical items to the region.
Murkomen had on Saturday camped in the area to coordinate rescue operations, as another team led by DIG Eliud Lagat is at the Eldoret Airstrip to receive those injured.
Among the injured are 7 children who have been taken to the MTRH Shoe for Africa. children’s hospital.
Lagat said the search and rescue mission is ongoing, and the number of the dead could rise.
“We are saddened by what has happened, and we are doing everything possible to ensure we assist residents,” Lagat said.
He said the mudslides affected Chesongoch, Kabetwa and Chesongoch area, which had been completely cut off due to flooding.
Lagat said the government was working with all relevant institutions to ensure that residents are assisted.
He urged all residents in risky areas to move out as soon as possible.
Red Cross North Manager Oscar Okumu said about 500 households are affected in the area, with many residents displaced.
“We have reports that the mudslides are still active in many areas, and we are working to rescue and evacuate those stranded in the region,” Okumu said.
He said they had accessed through three different routes and that two drones had been deployed to help in the operation.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Health Executive Monica Rotich said the county was working with all stakeholders to intervene in the situation.
Phillip Cheptinga said most of the injured were in stable condition and would be assisted by medics deployed to attend to them.
Also flown to the affected areas are medical teams and Red Cross workers who are helping those affected.
More than 20 ambulances are stationed at the Eldoret Airstrip to receive the injured from the choppers and move them to Moi Referral Hospital.
Counties in the region have been mobilised to help manage the disaster with ambulances from all areas headed to Elgeyo Marakwet.
Rotich says all governors in the region are helping to coordinate aid to the area.
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