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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Fifty-five people were killed when their bus left the road, hurtled down a slope and crashed into western Kenya, a senior official said Wednesday. torn the roof of the bus.
"The information we have is that the driver has lost control," Associated Press spokesman James Mugera of Kericho County Police said.
"I felt the bus drifting from one side to the other and then I found myself in the middle of nowhere," said passenger Joseph Obonyo at the AP. "There was a body near me and people were thrown off the bus, flying like planes, and where we were thrown away, that was it … I can only say that God has saved me and I am truly grateful. "
Obonyo was among about 15 survivors, officials said. The need for blood transfusions was shouting, said Kericho Governor Paul Kiprono Chepkwony.
The bus was traveling from the capital Nairobi to Kakamega, in the west of the country, when the accident occurred around 4 am, said Francis Munyambu, chief of the regional police of the Rift Valley.
Nine children were among the dead, he added.
The bus was not allowed to circulate at night and its owners would be liable to prosecution, said Regional Traffic Police Officer, Zero Arome. "What happened is very unfortunate and action will be taken," he said.
Kenya has struggled to reduce the growing number of road accidents as more and more growing middle-class members acquire vehicles.
According to government statistics, about 3,000 Kenyans die each year in road accidents. In the 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Kenya's roads are among the most dangerous in the world, making about 29.1 lives a year. 100,000 people.
In 2013, the government reintroduced breathalyzers, but had to remove them again after court orders forbade the police to lay charges against drivers, based on aircraft readings.
In an article published in November in Elephant, commentator Patrick Gathara criticized the "instinctive reactions of the government", such as the ban on night buses, compliance with speed limits, seat belts and cruise control. speed on transit vehicles.
"Reactionary legal measures are quickly announced following a particularly horrific crash, with little research, foresight or long-term planning, and just as quickly forgotten," wrote Gathara.
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