Eight perish as fuel tanker collides with bus

By DANIEL NZIA

and ONESMUS NZIOKI

Eight people perished in a road accident along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway when the bus they were travelling in collided with a tanker.

Several others sustained injuries and were admitted to Kilome Nursing Home in Emali town and Makindu District Hospital.

Makindu OCPD Sarah Duncan said the dead were six women, a man and a young boy. Their bodies were taken to Makindu District Hospital Mortuary.

Ms Duncan told The Standard on telephone that initial investigation revealed that the driver of the tanker, which was transporting fuel to Nairobi, was driving on the wrong lane when the accident occurred at about 6am Sunday.

The police boss said the whereabouts of the tanker driver and his passengers were unknown, but added they must have escaped with injuries.

She urged motorists to be extra careful and strictly observe traffic rules during this Christmas season.

Suddenly heard

Collins Mwang’ombe who lost his mother in the accident said he learned about it through his father who survived.

"My father called me at about 6am. He told me the bus they were travelling in had been involved in an accident and that my mother had died," he recounted at Makindu hospital.

He said they boarded the bus at Machakos at about 2am instead of the scheduled 9.30pm departure time.

The bus conductor, Mr Ben Wanyama who is admitted to the hospital with a fractured left hand and leg, said they were travelling from Kampala to Mombasa.

"I saw a lorry in front of us driving on our lane and suddenly heard a loud bang before I lost consciousness. I later found myself on this hospital bed," he said.

A senior nursing officer at the Makindu hospital, Geoffrey Muoki, said two passengers were admitted at the facility but were in stable condition.

He said eight others were treated and discharged.