SEVEN children died after their school bus was swept by flood water at a gorge close to Arusha city centre at Engosheraton, an accident that Arusha Urban MP blames on the power supply monopoly for refusing to allow bridge construction on the spot.

Bodies of the pupils were found after a day-long police and rescue teams’ search effort while three pupils with their teacher cheated death in the accident, rescued by a Good Samaritans and rushed to Muriet health centre.

SACP Justin Masejo, the regional police commander, said they were still investigating the incident and will release a report soon, while President Samia Suluhu Hassan sent condolences to the grieved families, and the school management said they will issue a statement later.

Mrisho Gambo, the MP, said they had raised money for bridge construction across the gorge as it gets filled with water when heavy rains occur, “but the management of the Tanzania Electric Supply Co. (Tanesco) has been preventing the bridge construction without providing any plausible reasons.”

Efforts to contact the Tanesco regional management here proved futile as they were not in office and didn't pick phones.

The Toyota Hiace commuter van, T 496 EFK serving as a school bus for Ghati Memorial Academy, was dragged into the water-filled gorge early yesterday.

Eyewitnesses said the vehicle had 13 people on board, namely11 pupils, their teacher and the driver, where three children and the teacher were rescued.

They said the driver tried to escape shortly after the accident 12 kilometers from the city centre but was chased, caught but couldn't speak as he seemed confused.

He was driving the children from home to the school but upon reaching a road section with gushing torrent, he trusted that he would negotiate the water against all odds.

“So he drove the van onto the crossing section without realizing that parts of the road were eroded by the rains that pounded Engosheraton, a part of Engosengiu ward, all night long,” eyewitnesses narrated.

The front wheels were first to be dragged into the waters and eventually the entire vehicle fell into the gorge, they said, elaborating that the van was washed away and then caught at the edge of the footbridge further downstream.

That prevented the bus from being swept away entirely, and as the little children tried to escape from the bus shell, water swept several of them downstream.

Some people in the area who witnessed the incident rushed to the rescue of those still struggling, rescuing the teacher and three other children, they added.