Six dead in bus accident on Nairobi-Mombasa Highway

The accident involved a Tahmeed bus and a trailer at Kapiti, Konza, along the Nairobi–Mombasa Highway. [Daniel Mwongela, Standard]

Six people were killed and 41 others sustained injuries following a tragic accident that involved a Mombasa bound passenger bus and two trucks at Kapiti plains along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

According to Kalama Sub-County Police Commander, Patrick Gaitirira, the  accident occurred around 1 am Tuesday when a truck heading from Mombasa direction towards Nairobi tried to overtake and collided head-on with a bus operating under Tahmeed Company which was heading towards Mombasa.

“There was overtaking by one of the trucks and as a result there was a head-on collision between the trailer and the bus. It was so serious that on the spot, we had six people who died and a number of them sustained serious and minor injuries and were rushed to Machakos level 5 hospital.”

He went on, “The trapped bodies have already been retrieved from the bus and have been taken to Machakos level 5 hospital mortuary. My advice to all road users is to take caution especially when overtaking. We are yet to establish the number of passengers that were on board at the time of accident,” the OCPD said.

The accident caused a major traffic snarl-up along the busy highway forcing many motorists to use alternative routes.

Following the incident, healthcare staff at Machakos level 5 hospital were mobilized and ambulances dispatched to the scene to rush those injured to the facility.

Machakos level 5 hospital medical superintendent Daniel Katua while addressing journalists at the hospital confirmed six bodies, five male and one female were received at the mortuary.

“We received 41 patients in total. 36 sustained mild injuries while five had serious injuries including dislocation of limbs, back spinal injuries and face and head injuries. We are in the process of stabilizing them as we prepare to send them to theatre for the necessary surgeries,” Dr Katua said.

At the same time, Health executive, Justus Kasivu said medical staff on off-duty including surgeons and consultants were called in to manage the situation. “We are treating this incident as an emergency and all the cases are being managed with utmost precision. We have sufficient medical and non-pharmaceutical supplies to manage the situation smoothly,” said Kasivu.