Kenya dam break claims 45 lives; search through debris still on for 40 more

Kenyan troops and emergency workers picked through mud and debris on Friday in search of some 40 people still missing after a dam burst its banks, sending muddy waters raging through homes and killing 45 people.

Kenya's top prosecutor has ordered a probe into the collapse of the dam on Wednesday night, as questions mount over the quality of construction of the private reservoir on a vast farming estate.

A portion of the earthen wall of the dam collapsed, sending millions of litres of water coursing down a muddy slope, engulfing nearby settlements and destroying power lines over a stretch of some 10 kilometres (6 miles).

"The number of people dead from this tragedy is 45 after the recovery of the body of a teenage boy," on Friday, said Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Mwongo Chimwanga.