At least 34 people have been confirmed dead after a bus plunged 40 meters (131 feet) off a bridge into the Nithi River in central Kenya, local media reported on Monday.

The Daily Nation and Standard newspapers reported that the incident occurred on Sunday evening in Tharaka Nithi County, when the bus belonging to the Modern Coast company traveling from Meru to the port city of Mombasa veered off the Nithi Bridge, and fell into the valley below.

"Up to now, we have lost 14 women, 18 men and two girls, so the total deaths are 34. We have rescued 11, who are undergoing treatment in hospital," Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner Nobert Komora told NTV Kenya television near the crash site.

The Daily Nation reported Komora as saying that initial investigations showed the bus's brakes may have failed, preventing its driver from properly turning on a sharp bend at the bridge.

The National Transport and Safety Authority, Kenya's transport regulator, had ordered all buses belonging to Modern Coast to suspend operations pending an investigation into the crash.

National Bureau of Statistics data shows that 4,579 people died in road accidents in Kenya in 2021, a 15% increase from a year earlier.

The Nithi River bridge has been a black spot for many years and drivers have been warned to slow down when passing through the area.

Last year, five people were killed after their minibus plunged into the river at the same location injuring many others, while last month, one passenger was killed at the same location.

In 2015, three people were killed at the same spot after a bus belonging to Sunbird Company plunged into the Nithi River bridge, and dozens were injured in the accident.