36 people killed in passenger bus, freight truck head on collission in Kenya

31 Décembre 2017

Nairobi, Kenya, December 31  (Infosplusgabon) - At least 36 people have been killed in a deadly accident involving a passenger bus and a truck along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway in Western Kenya, Police and the transport authority said on Sunday.

The passenger bus was traveling to Nairobi from Busia, a Kenya-Uganda border town, to Nairobi when it hit the freight truck, the Director-General of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), Meja Mwangi, said.

"The preliminary investigations indicate that the bus left its lane and collided head on with the trailer on the extreme left climbing lane," the NTSA said in a joint statement with the Police.

"Further investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing and a comprehensive report would follow," the transport body said.

At least 18 people were injured in the accident which occurred at Migaa, near Sachangwan, and Salgaa, in the Nakuru, 190 km outside Nairobi, the capital.

In response to the latest crash on the highways, the NTSA, which has been blamed for failing to ensure safety on the roads, announced an arbitrary ban on night travel.

Scores of people have been killed during this festive season as passengers rushed upcountry to celebrate Christmas and New Year festivities.

The celebrations have also been marked by mourning of family members who lost their lives on the highways across Kenya.

On Sunday, hundreds of mourners turned up at the Siaya County Hospital, to receive the bodies of seven family members who died in an accident at Sultan Hamud, along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, according to Ramogi FM, a local radio station.

Kenyan authorities have been considering a series of tough new measures to deal with the deaths on the highways.

Earlier, the NTSA announced a ban on all driving schools and ordered the retraining of drivers.

They also raised the minimum qualification for drivers of public vehicles to three years experience and at least 28 years requirement for drivers of trucks and freighters.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/BVC/GABON 2017

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