Boat with 'large number of people' capsizes in Kenya floods

An unspecified number of passengers are missing after the boat they were travelling in capsized in Kenya's north-eastern area of Madogo.

The passengers were crossing a flooded area in Kona Punda heading to the neighbouring Garissa town when the incident happened on Sunday evening.

Ali Roba, the senator of the neighbouring Mandera county, said 28 people died in the incident. Authorities are, however, yet to give the confirmed death toll.

About 23 people have been rescued and are currently receiving care at a local hospital, the Kenya Red Cross said.

It is unclear how many people were on board at the time of the incident. But the Kenya Red Cross said the boat was carrying a "large number of people".

Police said they were working with the rescue teams to search for missing victims.

Flooding in the area is caused by the overflowing of dams upstream, local media reported.