Ndiema said all passengers were accounted for. Police were looking for the driver, who is accused of ignoring passengers’ concerns and insisting on driving through the water.
Police said some passengers escaped just before the bus was submerged, while others climbed onto the roof.
The incident happened hours after Kenya’s roads agency announced the closure of another section of the road that was flooded after the Tana River swelled due to continuing heavy rains.
The government on Monday issued a flood alert to residents of Tana River and Lamu counties after flooding breached a dam upstream.