AT least 20 children are among the dead after a dam burst its banks in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
Water burst through the banks of the Patel Dam in Solai, Nakuru County, on Wednesday night, killing at least 41 people and forcing hundreds from their homes.
The flood also swept away hundreds of homes, including those on the expansive Nyakinyua Farm, which borders the reservoir.
“Many people are missing. It is a disaster,” said Rongai police chief Joseph Kioko.
Almost an entire village was swept by silt and water, according to Gideon Kibunja, the county police chief.
Up to 40 people have been rescued from the mud and taken to hospital in rescue operations by the Kenya Red Cross and Nakuru County disaster management teams. There are fears that many more remain trapped.
Officials said the dam water and mud spewed out of the reservoir and submerged homes over a radius of nearly 1.2 miles.
At least 132 people have died since March from floods caused by seasonal rains, Kenya’s government said.
The deaths from the dam collapse raise the death toll to around 170 people, with 225,436 others displaced, according to government statistics.
The floods hit as the East African nation recovered from a severe drought that had affected half of the country.
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