Two men died Sunday evening after the vehicle they were travelling in veered off the road and plunged into river Rupingazi in Embu North Sub- County.
A third woman occupant in the Toyota Probox car that was loaded with jerricans of liquor escaped death narrowly and was rescued by locals who rushed to the scene of the accident that took place some few minutes to 7 pm at Mweria bridge.
County Commissioner Eddyson Nyale while confirming the accident said one body was retrieved from the vehicle while the other is still missing and is believed to have been washed away by the raging waters.
He said search of the missing body will resume today morning as well as retrieval of the vehicle that was extensively damaged.
Rescuer, Salim Mwangi, recounted how he was able to save the woman who was in the back seat before the vehicle was fully submerged in water.
“I managed to get into the river on time and I first lifted her head to prevent her from suffocating and then pulled her out of the vehicle, but I could not manage to save the rest,” said Mwangi.
The accident raised a huge outcry from area leaders and locals over the ‘killer bridge’ they said has continued to claim lives due to what they described as poor design and construction.
They said the 100 meters stretch of the bridge was left out during the expansion and upgrading to bitumen standard of the road five years ago.
They said the bridge has no guardrails and is narrow to the point that only one vehicle can cross at a time.
Area MCA John Mwajuma said they have complained to the authorities severally over the bridge but no action has been taken.
They demanded that the contractor be recalled to complete the section or else they will block the road until action is taken.
