The search for survivors after a dam burst its banks on a commercial farm in the Rift Valley in central Kenya resumed Friday, the region's governor said.
At least 44 people were killed when the reservoir, used to store water for the farming of roses for export to Europe, burst its banks on Wednesday night after heavy rains. Another 40 people have been reported missing.
Weeks of heavy rains have caused flooding and mudslides across the country that have left 175 dead.
On Wednesday evening, the earthen wall of a privately owned irrigation dam in Solai, about 40 kilometers north of Nakuru town in Kenya's Rift Valley, breached and inundated nearby settlements.
Nakuru county governor Lee Kinyanjui said 44 bodies had been recovered so far, with another 40 reported missing, and warned that at least one other local dam "will have to be discharged to avoid disaster".
Dozens more were taken to hospital with injuries.
The search and rescue operation, involving emergency services as well as volunteers digging through the mud by hand, was disrupted by further heavy rainfall on Thursday, resuming on Friday morning.
A sea of mud and water washed away two villages and cut power lines, according to local residents. The torrent hit while people were in their homes, or sleeping, with one survivor describing it as "hell on earth".
Many of the houses affected were rickety structures made of wood and tin that stood little chance against the raging floodwater.
The Kenyan Red Cross estimates that up to 500 families were affected by the disaster.
The reservoir, known locally as "Patel dam" after the owner of the farm, is close to an informal settlement housing casual laborers.
On Friday morning Kenya's chief prosecutor Noordin Haji ordered the opening of a police investigation into the tragedy. The public prosecutor’s office said on Twitter the police chief had been ordered “to carry out thorough investigations to establish cause and culpability if any” behind the disaster and file a report within two weeks.
The Daily Nation newspaper quoted government officials as saying the dam and others on the 3,500-acre Solai farm, 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Nairobi, had not been cleared by government engineers.
Villagers had complained when the dams were built, accusing the farm-owner of depriving them of access to river water, the paper reported.
Vinoj Kumar, general manager of the farm, blamed the disaster on heavy rainfall in a forest above the dam. He declined to comment on the Daily Nation allegations, saying he was too busy to talk.
Government statistics released this week showed that more than 220,000 people have been displaced by flooding as heavy rains hit the country after three consecutive failed rainy seasons had left it in drought.
Since March, at least 21,000 acres (8,500 hectares) of farmland have been submerged in water with an estimated 20,000 animals killed, the Red Cross said last week.
The floods have also destroyed road networks in some parts of the East African country.
