Twin brothers killed as road crashes claim 11 in two days

Relatives and friends of the two twin brothers who were knocked down by a personal car along Mombasa-Nairobi highway at Miritini break down in tears at the scene of the accident in this picture taken on April 2, 2012. Photo/LABAN WALLOGA

Twin brothers on Monday became the latest casualties of the road carnage that has claimed 11 lives in Mombasa in the past two days.

Swaleh Hamisi and Yongo Hamisi, aged 20, died on the spot after they were hit by a saloon car whose driver lost control as he avoided crashing into an oncoming trailer near Raffia Bags factory in Miritini.

The brothers were pushing a handcart loaded with water fetched from a nearby fountain. The driver of the car and his two female passengers sustained injuries and were taken to hospital.

At Misufini Village in Miritini, the home of the twins, villagers wept uncontrollably. Only moments earlier, the twins had cracked jokes with their friends as they went to fetch water.

They were students at Mazeras Youth Polytechnic where they were taking vocational courses in mechanics and construction.

The accident came less than 24 hours after Sunday evening’s crash near Mwache bridge in Kinango that claimed nine lives as 38 were admitted to Mariakani and Coast General hospitals with serious injuries.

The bus, nicknamed Dream International, was heading to Kinango from Mombasa when its brakes reportedly failed. It veered off the road and hurtled down an uneven slope before plunging into a dry, rocky gulley at the foot of the ridge.

Coast traffic commandant Joshua Omukata said that of the nine deaths, seven were on the spot and two in hospital.

“We have 19 victims at Mariakani hospital and 19 others at Coast General Hospital,” Mr Omukata told the Nation on Monday. Investigations were on-going to determine the cause of the crash and why the vehicle’s brakes failed as has been reported by survivors.

“The investigations will also ascertain the exact number of passengers who were aboard the bus,” he said.

His remarks came as questions were raised over the bus’ mechanical condition. Survivors and eye witnesses said the bus stalled three times: at Miritini, Mazeras and Kasemeni and on each occasion, was “repaired” by the driver and his crew before resuming the journey.

The conductor, Mr Ramadhan Dunda, said the driver was new to the route and may have had problems handling the vehicle as it was his first time too.

The loader Kahindi Ngumbao said things took a turn for the worse when the driver tried to change gears but the move failed and the engine started making ‘strange noises’.

When the passengers learnt that the vehicle’s brakes had failed, they panicked and started moving inside the bus, seeking to jump out.

“I stood by the entrance and stopped them from jumping out of the moving bus. If we had let them jump out, more would have certainly died,” he said from his hospital bed where he was nursing neck injuries.

Kaloleni police boss Betty Gachagoh, who coordinated the rescue operation at the scene, said most of the passengers sustained fractures and cuts.

At Coast General Hospital, the provincial director of medical services, Dr Maurice Siminyu, said 15 people were treated and discharged on Moday morning.

Reports by Mark Agutu, Bozo Jenje, Galgalo Bocha and Daniel Nyassy