Chilling scenes as 20 killed in horrific accident

The smell of death. Mutilated bodies strewn in the middle of the road. A mangled wreck. Twenty lives cut short.

This was the sight of a horrific crash that left 20 dead at Soysambu along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway at 3am yesterday. Blood was still oozing out of the bodies as rescuers struggled to recover them from the mangled wreck. Rescuers had to cut through the wreckage to retrieve bodies trapped on seats and others under the wheels of loaded trailers. It was horrific.

A bus heading to Busia from Nairobi collided with a trailer headed in the opposite direction.

“The bus was overtaking a trailer without sufficient clearing distance which resulted in the driver going back into the lane to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming trailer. The miscalculation resulted in a collision with the right side of the bus getting ripped off,” read a statement by NTSA on the crash.

NTSA’s preliminary investigations indicate that the crash was as a result of reckless overtaking at a descent.

Different drivers

But even in such grim occurrences, miracles do happen. Survivors who got out of the mangled wreck with injuries shed tears. Tears of joy and sadness for the lives lost within a twinkling of the eye.

They narrated their horrific encounter with the ill-fated bus that was enroute from Nairobi to Busia.

Simon Odhiambo, a survivor, said they were forced to board the bus in Nairobi because three others they had wanted to board could not get passengers.

Odhiambo said most of the passengers in the ill-fated bus, registration number KCG 992C, had booked seats on Kawere and Climax company buses for various destinations in western Kenya. But unable to fill their vehicles, touts forced them to switch to the Flashlink bus belonging to Super Highway Sacco.

“None of us had booked to travel with Flashlink. We were picked by touts from our respective buses and directed to take up the vacant seats in Flashlink which could take less passengers,” he said.

Trouble seems to have started in Nairobi, even before the doomed bus left the Machakos Country Bus Park. After forcing their passengers into Flashlink, the touts and drivers of the different companies are reported to have picked up a quarrel over payment as each varied their fares.

The operators of the vehicles — Climax, Kawere and Flashlink — could also not agree on who was to drive the Flashlink bus to Busia. According to the survivors, different drivers kept taking the wheel before the bus left the city.

“Drivers kept taking the wheel. They were also speeding,” said Odhiambo. He was travelling to Luanda with his mother, aunt and sister. They all survived the accident.

He was seated by the window on the left side of the bus and jumped out through the opening after the glass was shattered by the impact of the crash.

“In a flash, I found myself rolling on the ground. I sustained minor injuries but managed to help the others rescue survivors,” he said.

George Odhiambo, another survivor, said on reaching Soysambu, the driver of the passenger bus was trying to overtake a trailer that was heading to Nakuru but miscalculated the distance between the bus and an oncoming trailer bound for Nairobi.

The bus collided head-on with the oncoming trailer, which tore through the entire length of the right side of the bus, killing or seriously injuring passengers seated on that side. The casualties were rushed to St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Gilgil.

Kevine Omollo was heading for the burial of his father in Busia with his brother Peter Owour, who sustained serious head injuries and is being attended to at the facility.

Tragic occurrence

Omollo said he was in deep sleep and was awoken by a loud bang. “I awoke to a horrific sight of mutilated bodies in and outside the bus, with wails filling the air,” he said.

“People were scrambling to exit with deep cuts, others were stuck between the compressed parts of the bus,” said Robert Othieno, who was headed to Busia for his aunt’s burial.

Edisa Malia, was still in shock when Sunday Standard caught up with her at St Mary’s, but thanked God for saving her, her mother and four-year-old son.

They had left their Kawangware estate home at around 7pm and were hoping to arrive in Busia at 5am.

As the relatives of the dead came to terms with the tragic occurrence yesterday, and as survivors were attended to at St Mary’s Hospital, it emerged that the bus had flouted its route as it was only registered to operate within Nairobi city and its environs.

Nakuru Police Commandant Hassan Barua said the vehicle was registered to ply the Githurai 45 route. The police are investigating whether the driver had a permit to ferry passengers to Busia.

“The bus was on the road illegally because it is not permitted for long distance journeys. It is only allowed to operate within Nairobi and its environs,” he said. St Mary’s Hospital nursing officer-in-charge Salesio Murangu said at least 20 people were received at the facility.

Murangu said some of the casualties sustained serious head injuries and had undergone surgery.

“Majority of patients received were bleeding profusely, they were stabilised and are still being examined,” he said.

Rift Valley Traffic Enforcement Officer Zero Arome, who led rescue operations, said the bus was overloaded and a number of conductors could not get seats.

Yesterday, the National Transport and Safety Authority   Director General Francis Meja  said they would re-look at the issue on night travel .

“There are regulations that govern night travel for PSVs. We want to re-look at the whole matter of night travel with a view of preventing the unnecessary deaths that occur on our roads,” he said.

Travel ban

Speaking at a press briefing at NTSA headquarters in Nairobi, Mr Meja said they would also launch a crackdown targeting unlicensed PSVs that ferry passengers after dusk.

Statistics by the road safety body indicates that 1,097 people have died in road accidents since the start of the year, with 265 deaths occurring last month alone. Of the 1,097 deaths, pedestrians are the highest casualties, with 416 of them losing their lives on the roads and highways, with passengers travelling on PSVs at 216 coming second.

kgachuhi@standardmedia.co.ke / mkahenda@standardmedia.co.ke