Residents recount horrific moments after tragic night highway accident in Naivasha

Members of the public view the wreckage of some of the vehicles which were burnt down after an accident involving a tanker and over ten cars along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. Over thirty people including police officers died in the accident that occurred a few kilometres from Naivasha town. (ANTHONY GITONGA/ STANDARD)

Residents of Laini trading centre were yesterday struggling to come to terms with the horrific accident that left at least 39 people dead.

Narrating their encounter, witnesses said although there have been accidents at the spot, yesterday's incident was the worst.

The residents described the scene as "horrifying", saying the raging flames hampered rescue mission.

"I was among the first people to respond as I was sitting at the shopping centre less than 10 metres from the highway," John Kamau said.

He said attempts by residents to fight off the fires were hampered by lack of equipment and delay by fire brigade from Naivasha town which is about 10 kilometres.

Fierce fire

The locals said the impact of the accident led to a ferocious fire that  stopped them from saving lives.

"The first two vehicles that were hit did not burst into flames. We managed to retrieve two bodies from a police car and one from a saloon car. However, as we attempted to rescue more people, a fierce fire engulfed the scene," said Kamau.

Peter Nyangira said he was in his shop near the scene of accident at around 9.30pm when he heard a bang as the lorry hit a bump along the highway.

Nyangira said he went outside to see what was happening but was shocked to see several vehicles along the busy highway burning.

He said he was forced to retreat to his shop because fire flames were spreading fast and he feared he would be burnt.

Beatrice Kebere said she was going to buy airtime at a nearby shop when she witnessed the night incident.

Kebere said she heard victims crying for help but locals were reluctant to rescue them because of the raging fire.

She said she saw people running from their vehicles with flames on their bodies.

The witness said a majority of victims died inside their vehicles but some tried to escape from the scene without success.

"Locals here always assist whenever there is an accident but yesterday, people were running away from victims who were crying because of pain. Some opened doors of their vehicles only to fall and die," said the witness.

She said police officers arrived at the scene and began searching for guns believed to have been carried by General Service Unit (GSU) officers who also perished in the tragic accident.

Esther Muiru from Maguna estate said she heard victims crying for help but there was no quick response from fire extinguishers.

Muiru said to prevent more tragedy, police officers asked locals to help in controlling movement of vehicles along the highway as there was heavy traffic jam.

"The fire brigade arrived at the scene an hour after the accident had been reported, making it difficult to save lives," said Muiru.

Francis Njoroge said he rushed to the scene of horror after receiving information that his brother David Kamau had been involved in the accident.

Njoroge said at the scene, he saw bodies that had been burnt beyond recognition.

He said his brother sustained fatal injuries. He was able to identify his body beside his vehicle, which had been damaged.

"The scene was horrific. Bodies were lying all over. I took more hours trying to locate my brother who died next to his vehicle while trying to flee," said Njoroge.