11 dead, several injured as bus full of mourners rolls in tragic accident

At least 11 people have been confirmed dead and several others rushed to hospital following a grisly road accident at Josa area along Wundanyi-Mwatate road in Taita Taveta County.

The accident which involved a bus that was ferrying mourners from a funeral happened on the night of Saturday, April 15

Mwatate sub-county police commander Morris Okul confirmed the accident stating that several lives had been lost and the police would issue the final number of fatalities and casualties.

"We are at the scene and a rescue operation is ongoing. We don't know the exact number of casualties yet," Okul said in an interview with Nation, noting that the number of casualties could rise.

Good Samaratans, including locals were among the first to arrive at the scene of the tragedy.

Taita Taveta: 11 dead in accident involving bus ferrying mourners Wundanyi - Mwatate Road Pulse Live Kenya

READ: How students in Pwani Uni bus made peace with destiny before crash

They used axes to break the body of the vehicle and rescue survivors who had been trapped in the mangled wreckage and ferried them to hospital before emergency rescue services arrived at the scene.

The injured were taken to Moi County Referral Hospital, Voi for treatment with the bodies of the deceased moved to the morgue of the same facility.

The accident is the latest in a series of fatal crashes that have left several dead and scores injured with government agencies working round the clock to reverse the trend.

A week ago, at least 10 people died in a grisly road accident in Migori after a speeding lorry ploughed through a crowd on Saturday, April 08.

According to eyewitness, the lorry hurtled down a sloppy stretch of the road after the driver lost control, ramming into passers-by, motorists and boda boda riders before stopping after crashing into a lorry ferrying sand.

"We saw the lorry speeding into town, and it crashed passers-by, motorists, and boda boda riders as it went down the hill.

"It then rammed into a lorry with sand, forcing it to stop. If the lorry without sand weren't in that spot, then the lorry with rice (which lost control) would have killed more," an eyewitness recounted.

Last month, a bus belonging to Pwani University was involved in a deadly crash while ferrying students to an inter-university sports event at the University of Eldoret, leaving at least 17 people dead.

In the wake of the accident, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen expressed concern about the number of Kenyans who had died in road accidents, calling for tightening of road safety measures.

READ: 10 killed, scores rushed to hospital in grisly Saturday morning accident

“So many accidents happen because of the recklessness of drivers. We lost students from Pwani University and other Kenyans because preliminary investigation shows that the brakes failed, meaning that the bus was not serviced well,” Murkomen said.

Murkomen also appealed to motorists to value people’s lives.