[PHOTOS] Mai Mahiu dam tragedy that has claimed over 40 lives

The death toll from the Mai Mahiu dam tragedy is expected to surpass 50 as the search mission was expanded to neighbouring villages.

Hours after the dam in Old Kijabe burst its banks on Monday morning sweeping everything on its way, 45 bodies including 17 minors were recovered around the scene.

Trouble started when the dam located over 20 km away burst its bank on Monday morning, spilling water to neighbouring villages.

In the process, tens of people were killed, scores left missing while over twenty passengers in an Easy Coach bus which was caught by the floods could not be accounted for.

Speaking on the phone, Naivasha OCPD Stephen Kirui said that of the 45 bodies recovered from different locations, 17 were minors.

He said that the numbers could rise by the day as the search operation continued, adding that the fate of the passengers in the ill-fated Easy Coach bus was unknown.

The police boss added that during the incident, several cars with occupants were swept by the floods with the bodies and the wrecks yet to be recovered.

“The gushing waters flooded sections of the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu and Narok-Mai Mahiu road where some of the bodies were recovered,” said the police boss.

According to a victim, William Rokai, they were woken up by a loud and vibrating sound before his house was flooded in minutes.

Rokai, accompanied by his two brothers, managed to rescue his two children from the roof before escaping to higher grounds as the water swept anything on its way.

He said that the incident caught them by surprise as they were asleep, adding that he only managed to rescue his family while everything including the house was swept downstream.

“In minutes our house was flooded and through the grace of the road we managed to escape through the roof and we are still in shock,” said the casual labourer.

Another victim David Chege termed the tragedy as the worst to ever hit the area noting that the town had not recorded heavy rains compared to other areas.

He said that tens of families did not know the fate of their kin with tens missing and scores of others admitted in different hospitals in Naivasha.

“This is worse than the Solai dam incident as the death toll could pass 70 as many families cannot trace their relatives who were washed by the floods,” he said.