BAt least 48 people died in a traffic accident in Kenya. Another 30 people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries after a truck collided with several minibuses and pedestrians, local police chief Geoffrey Mayek told the AFP news agency on Friday evening. It is possible that the death toll will continue to rise. One or two people were probably trapped under the truck.
The accident happened on Friday evening at a very busy crossroads in the west of the country. Television images from the accident site between the cities of Kericho and Nakuru showed the overturned truck and the wreckage of several minibuses.
Truck loses control
Rift Valley Police Commander Tom Mboya Odero said the truck bound for Kericho lost control and hit other eight vehicles, several motorcycles and people on the side of the road.
Eyewitness Maureen Jepkoech reported that the truck was moving at high speed and honked its horn. The driver tried to avoid other vehicles and then drove into the middle of a market. She’s lucky to be alive “because I ran away,” the woman said.
According to the police, the rescue work was still ongoing in the evening. They were hampered by heavy rains, according to the Kenya Red Cross.
Serious accidents are common on Kenyan roads. According to the national transport authority, 4,690 people died in traffic accidents in the East African country last year.
