Kenya truck crash: dozens killed as truck loses control
To Sam Hancock for BBC News
At least 48 people were killed in a road accident at a busy Kenyan intersection, police and witnesses said.
Local media reports said it happened after a truck loaded with shipping containers lost control at Rondiani Junction near the western town of Kericho.
Police Commander Jeffrey Mayek said 30 other people were seriously injured, but added that the number “could be much higher.”
He also expressed concern that “one or two people” may have been trapped under the overturned vehicle.
Another regional police commander, Tom Mboya Odero, said a truck driving toward Kericho “lost control and killed eight vehicles, several motorcycles, people on the side of the road, vendors and others. It crashed into people on the streets of the city,” AFP news agency reported. business”.
Witnesses told Kenyan media that the driver was trying to avoid a bus that broke down on the road.
Kenyan President William Ruto said he was heartbroken to hear that among those killed were “promising young men and businessmen who were busy with their daily chores”.
“I urge drivers to be extra cautious on the road, especially during heavy rains,” Ruto added in a tweet.
Images circulating online showed what appeared to be a red shipping container lying at the bottom of a small grassy embankment by the side of the road.
Town governor Eric Mutai described the incident as a “dark moment” for Kericho.
“My heart is broken,” he posted on Facebook, along with a photo of the container.
Mutai added that the necessary emergency services had been dispatched to the scene.
Local reports said rainfall was hampering rescue efforts, but it’s not clear if the weather played a role in the accident.
Traffic accidents are a well-known problem in East Africa, as roads on the outskirts of large cities are often narrow.
The World Health Organization announced on its website last year that the continent as a whole had the highest road fatality rate in the world.
Last year, 34 people were killed when a bus fell off a bridge in central Kenya and into the Niti River below.
– This story was first published BBC.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/492979/kenya-lorry-crash-dozens-killed-after-truck-loses-control Kenya truck crash: dozens killed as truck loses control