At least 20 killed as dam bursts in west Kenya

NAKURU, Kenya, May 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were killed and an unknown number of people missing after a dam burst its banks in Nakuru county in west Kenya, police said on Thursday.

Local police commander, Japheth Kioko, said that the incident occurred on Wednesday evening after Patel Dam in Subukia, township in the city of Nakuru, broke its banks causing destruction and deaths.

"We have recovered 20 bodies and many people are (still) missing. It is a disaster," Kioko said.

The police, the Kenya Red Cross Society and the Nakuru County disaster management teams have launched a search and rescue operation. Up to 39 people have been rescued and taken to hospitals.

Houses in the area were also swept away in the incident. It was reported that at least 300 families and 2,500 residents were affected by the dam burst.

Nakuru County Governor Lee Kinyanjui said that 15 ambulances have been dispatched to the scene to evacuate the victims, saying "we will do our best to take (the) affected families to safety and (to) help them get medical attention."

At least 132 people have died in the last two months and over 222,000 displaced as raging floods wreaked havoc across the country.

The East African nation has been experiencing unprecedented flooding in recent days as torrential rains pounded the country shortly after it had come out of a severe drought season marked by hunger and water scarcity.

Kinyanjui asked the public to be careful in the heavy rains season, which comes as weather experts are warning of more heavy rains in the next few days in an unusual departure from traditional weather patterns. Enditem