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Karen accident: 8 dead, scores injured as matatu plunges into Mbagathi River

A survivor of the accident recounted how a quick intervention by the conductor of the bus that the bus was carrying excess passengers saved her life
8 dead as matatu plunges into river in Karen
8 dead as matatu plunges into river in Karen

Eight people died in an accident on Saturday morning after the bus they were travelling in plunged into Mbagathi River near the Cooperative University of Kenya

The accident occurred at Gataka area along the road connecting Karen and Ongata Rongai.

The bus, belonging to Naboka Sacco was ferrying commuters to Nairobi from Gataka when tragedy struck.

The driver is reported to have lost control to the vehicle which veered off the road and landed in the river, killing six people on the spot.

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Two others succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.

Among the casualties was the driver of the ill-fated bus, with the conductor left with serious injuries.

Survivor recounts final moments before Karen accident that claimed 8 lives

An eye-witness who was in the bus and survived the tragedy narrated that the bus was carrying excess passengers.

We were in the bus, which was carrying excess passengers. It was full up to the door. I was among the last passengers to enter the bus and I stood next to the conductor,” she stated.

She narrated that the driver slowed down at the bumps along the road but lost control of the vehicle while attempting to continue the journey, with the bus veering into the river.

“When the driver reached near the river, he slowed down for the bumps, but as he attempted to continue driving, the bus lost control and started moving towards the river.” She added.

Staring at possible death, the survivor recounted that the conductor threw her out of the moving vehicle, thereby saving her.

The conductor is also reported to have jumped out of the vehicle before it landed rolled into the river.

“The conductor threw me out and he also jumped before the bus rolled into the river,” she added.

An update provide by Kenya Red Cross that was among first responders detailed that thirteen people have been rushed to the hospital following the accident near Hardy Police Station in Karen.

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