Two dead after Standard Gauge Railway bridge collapses

Two workers have died and five others seriously injured after a section of Standard Gauge Railway bridge caved in.

The workers were constructing the bridge situated at at Maai Mahiu, Nakuru County as part of the Nairobi – Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway.

“We heard a bang then screams followed. It true seven people were injured during the incident and, unfortunately, we have lost two of them,” a worker who sought anonymity told a local daily.

Adding that the section they were constructing may have been weakened by heavy rains pounding the area.

The workers who had been contracted by China Road and Bridge Construction company were working on the bridge when a culvert caved in and buried them alive.

The two, were pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital on Monday evening.

The other five were said to be in stable condition and are still undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Naivasha.

The worker further revealed that they did not have helmets and other protective gear at the time of the accident.

Maai Mahiu Officer Commanding Police Station Ezra Sambu confirmed the incident, saying plans were under way to transfer the injured to Kijabe Mission Hospital for specialised care.

“Investigations have started to establish if it was as a result of negligence,” said Mr Sambu.

Bodies of the deceased were taken to Naivasha Sub-County Hospital mortuary.

SGR Phase 2A (Nairobi-Naivasha) runs across parts of Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Nakuru and Narok counties and covers a distance of 120 km.

Four tunnels will be constructed along the Nairobi- Naivasha section of the SGR line as part of the Lapsset corridor program.

Once completed, Kenya plans to extend the railway line to the lake city of Kisumu where it would link up with the border town of Malaba where Uganda would then connect it to Kampala.