We saw death coming and it was fast and painful, say Awasi accident survivors

Families and relatives gather outside Ahero Mortuary to identify the bodies of their loved ones who perished in a road accident at Awasi in Kisumu county on October 4, 2019. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

They saw it coming and tightly held onto their seats amid deafening screams. There were screeching tyres, a loud bang and groans from passengers. Then silence.

When the Eldoret Express bus finally rested on its right side in a ditch along the Kisumu-Kericho highway, 13 people, including a two-year-old child, lay dead, their bodies trapped in the mangled wreck. The time was 11.30pm, and the dimming lights of the bus flickered through the dark night, as survivors cried out for help.