(Nairobi) At least 52 people were killed in a road accident Friday night in western Kenya, police said, as rescuers resumed their search on Saturday.
The accident, one of the worst in Kenya for several years, was caused by the loss of control of a truck which hit several other vehicles at a busy junction, according to local police.
It happened in Londiani, on a highway linking Nakuru and Kericho, in an area known for its tea plantations.
“The death toll has risen to 52, as three people succumbed to their injuries in hospital,” local police commander Geoffrey Mayek told AFP.
Among the 52 dead are at least 31 men, 18 women and two children, Kericho County Governor Erick Mutai said, without giving further details on the 52.e victim.
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Citizen TV claimed that the driver of the truck had died, which at this stage could not be confirmed from official sources.
New security measures will be introduced after this “terrible” and “painful” drama, Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told the press on the spot.
“Investigations have been launched to establish the cause of the accident but we urge drivers to be careful and to respect the rules,” he added, also saying that the truck was registered in Rwanda.
Regional commissioner for the Rift Valley, Abdi Hassan, said earlier that the search had resumed, to recover at least two bodies from the debris.
According to him, there are also more than thirty injured. The truck rammed cars, minibuses, motorcycle taxis and market stalls.
Saturday on the spot, a crowd of onlookers observed the damage. The overturned truck was stuck in a ditch. Debris was visible over a wide perimeter: car seats, a damaged axle, scattered fruit, even a single black boot.
” In an instant ”
Kenyan leaders, including President William Ruto, expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, as did the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
“My prayers and my thoughts go out to the families affected by the Londiani road tragedy, and my wishes for a full recovery to the injured,” he tweeted.
“The truck was going full speed and honking its horn,” said witness Maureen Jepkoech. “He tried to avoid several vehicles before finding himself in the middle of the market”.
“The accident happened in an instant,” said another witness, Joel Rotich. “Many did not have time to flee. There was a huge confusion: people were screaming and running around”.
To prevent such a disaster from happening again, the Minister of Transport announced that the government was going to ensure that street vendors no longer set up on the side of the roads, but in markets designated for this purpose.
Mr. Murkomen also advocated the installation of speed bumps at the site of the accident. And insisted that long-distance truckers have sufficient breaks.
In a speech last December, he pointed out that human error was responsible for a large proportion of accidents, including drunk driving, speeding, fatigue and dangerous overtaking.
According to the Kenya National Transport and Safety Authority, 4,690 people died there last year in road accidents.
Traffic accidents are common in Africa. A collision between a bus and a truck killed 20 people in January in Senegal, a week after the death of more than 40 people in another accident.