Kenya crash bus pulled from river


Navy workers attach a wire to pull the bus from the river

MALINDI, Kenya -- Emergency workers in Kenya have recovered 20 bodies from a bus they finally managed to pull from a river.

It takes the death toll from a crash involving two buses carrying up to 100 passengers to at least 34, with dozens more still missing.

Navy, police and civilians had been struggling since Sunday to recover bodies trapped in the buses that crashed through a bridge guard rail and plunged 100 feet into the Sabaki River.

The accident happened eight miles north of the Indian Ocean resort town of Malindi. It is not known how many people were on the two buses. On the day of the accident, 14 bodies were recovered and 28 people taken to hospital.

Police said they were continuing to pursue allegations that the crash occurred when the driver of one of the buses swerved to avoid a Land Rover carrying tourists from abroad that had stopped so they could take photos.

After numerous failed attempts caused by inadequate equipment and the river's strong current, one of the buses was eventually plucked from the swirling water late on Tuesday.

A 45-tonne crane was used to lift and a bulldozer to pull, Navy Lieutenant Colonel Martin Ongoyi said, and rescuers then worked through the night under lights powered by generators to pull victims ashore.


Emergency workers attempt to pull open a door as the bus emerges

"There were very many people there. They were singing and it was a very emotional scene, but the people were calm ... the scene was spectacular," Ongoyi added.

Ten of the bodies were identified and immediately buried in a mass grave dug in the river's sandy banks, Ongoyi said, adding that 10 more had not been identified and would be moved to a mortuary.

Most of the passengers were Muslims from north-eastern Kenya. Muslim tradition mandates burial as soon as possible after death, preferably within 24 hours.

Ongoyi said the rescuers were waiting for an excavator to get the second bus out of the river bed. Both vehicles had sunk deep into the river and were filled with tonnes of silt.

Due to seasonal rains, the river is running faster than normal and rising each day. The bridge is located about 500 metres (1,600 feet) from where the river empties into the Indian Ocean and police fear some bodies may have been swept out to sea.

During the night operation, navy divers had to catch bodies which fell out of the bus and into the river as crane operators shook the vehicle to remove the silt, Ongoyi said.

Patrick Osare, the area's district commissioner, said it was a big relief to get at least one of the buses out. "People can now move on to the next stage of burying their relatives," Osare said.

He said he hoped the second bus would be out of the water by midday on Wednesday.

Friends and relatives of those trapped had become increasingly angry with the government and rescuers for their failure to get the vehicles out.

Muslim relatives of the dead had demanded the site be declared a grave and the bodies left in peace given the authorities' evident inability to recover the vehicles quickly.

But government officials said that for health reasons they could not allow the bodies to remain submerged and would press ahead with their grim task.

Most of the dead were believed to be from Kenya's Muslim minority, which is based mainly in eastern and northern Kenya.

On March 29 last year 101 people were killed when two overcrowded buses collided and burst into flames at Kapkatunga, 300km (185 miles) west of Nairobi.

Kenya is still mourning 61 teenage boys killed last week in the country's worst fire in years. The victims from Kyanguli school near Nairobi were due to be buried in a mass funeral at the school on Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.

RELATED STORIES:

Rescuers recover bodies at Kenya crash site
April 3, 2001
Kenya bus crash bodies still missing
April 3, 2001
Dozens feared dead in Kenyan crash
April 2, 2001
Death toll rises in Kenya crash
April 2, 2001

RELATED SITE: