Mwingi bus tragedy survivor Juliet Mutua has revealed that she is alive largely because of a face mask.
Speaking to the press at her home on Tuesday, December 7, Mutua disclosed that she had joined her family members en route to Nuu to witness her parents renew their wedding vows.
The survivor notes that upon realising that she had left her face mask, she alighted to go fetch it but the bus started moving before she could board.
"I survived a tragedy by God's mercies. I was trying to cross a river with the rest of my family to go for my dad's wedding but then I realised I had forgotten to pick masks from my bag.
"I ran back quickly to get the masks and by the time I got back running after the vehicle, it started moving and swiftly it just swayed off and that is when everybody started screaming and they all started drowning," she told Citizen TV.
Mutua further revealed that she witnessed her relatives, including nieces and nephews, drown during the tragedy as she watched helplessly.
At one point, she attempted to go rescue the relatives but her driver, held her from getting into the flooded river.
"It was a very tough experience and traumatizing because I think most people were in disbelief that it has just happened when we were all watching... I was just hopeless and screaming all over," she added.
The family of the groom lost over 10 members in the heartbreaking incident that saw over 30 people lose their lives.
The groom, Mutua Mbuvi, narrated that the news was broken to them shortly after they had exchanged their vows.
"Shortly after we exchanged the vows, the news was broken to us. We were told that our children had drowned. 10 of them, my own, all drowned," he stated.
Juliet disclosed that some of her nephews and nieces were rescued from the tragedy alive but their parents, unfortunately lost their lives. The responsibility to raise them now squarely rested on her shoulders.
As at Tuesday, December 7, the death toll stood at 33.
