20 killed in Kenya dam burst

By Andrew Wasike and Magdalene Mukami

Nairobi, Kenya (AA) – At least 20 people have been confirmed dead in Kenya after the Patel Dam in the town of Nakuru located in the Great Rift Valley region burst as a result of heavy rains that have been pounding the region.

The water released from the dam flooded villages sweeping away homes leaving residents chest-deep in water.

Speaking to the media, Rongai police chief Japheth Kioko confirmed the deaths saying that 20 bodies had been recovered from the village and that rescue operations were still ongoing as some villagers have yet to be accounted for.

"The rains started yesterday at night and then we had a crack then a loud bang, soon there was water everywhere and the electricity went out,” said Beatrice Wanyonyi, a resident from the village of Subukia who spoke to Anadolu Agency over the phone.

"The number of the people who died is likely to increase," she added. "So many people are yet to be found."

A team from the Red Cross, which is handling the rescue operations with members from the county government said in a statement that ”39 people [were] taken to hospital last night after Patel Dam in Subukia, Nakuru County, broke its banks affecting nearby villages".

The incident increased the death toll in Kenya from the current floods to 152 deaths which have been recorded in the past two months.

A government statement released earlier this week had put the number of people displaced by floods in Kenya at 222,456, a number that is likely to increase following the thousands who have been left homeless in Nakuru County.

The Kenyan government has so far used $6 million to purchase food and medicine which has been distributed to the affected in 32 counties out of the 42 that make up Kenya.