A woman was last evening swept away as she attempted to cross a flooded section of the Garissa - Bura highway as road transport remain disrupted for the second day leaving hundreds of passengers and motorists stranded.
The woman whose details and names could not be divulged because the next of kin had not been informed could not raise the KShs 200 by young men charging commuters to assist them to cross the flooded road.
The body was recovered this morning and brought to Garissa referral hospital mortuary.
The death brings to three the number of people who have lost their lives to the floods in the area after two children died in Bura when they downed as they attempted to cross a flooded area.
Their bodies were recovered in one of the main canals at the Bura irrigation scheme.
Addressing the press today Bilbil assistant chief Abdi Aden said the woman’s personal documents including her ID card was immediately retrieved but a card containing her name was recovered next to her body.
“We suspect the woman was traveling from Garissa to either Bura or Hola for business,” he said.
He said all perishable groceries and miraa (khat) could reach their destinations and had to be offloaded.
The assistant chief said no vehicle can cross the badly damaged four sections of the road and has seriously affected business along the route that serves the towns of Mombasa, Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera.
“Traders are counting losses running into millions of shillings. All goods and services along the major highway remain suspended,” he added.
Abdi Madhobi, a local resident urged the national government to award road contractors with experience and expertise to fix the road once and for all.“This is not the first time this section of the road has been swept away.
This is because is because of the poor workmanship by cowboy contractors who are out to rip huge profits and carry out shoddy work on the road,” he said.
Tana River county roads CEC Eng. Stephen Wachira who toured the damaged road section urged travelers and other users not to attempt to cross the damaged section of the road.
He said the county administration is working closely with the Kenyan National Highway Authority (KENHA) to make sure that the road is opened and operational as soon as possible.