At least 8 die in Tana River road crash

At least eight people died and more than 20 others were injured Tuesday when a passenger bus from Wajir collided with a lorry in Bangal, Tana River County.

The lorry is said to have been ferrying blocks from Thika to Garissa.

It was approximately 60 kilometres from Garissa.

CASUALTIES
Four children and their mother are reported to have lost their lives in the accident while three children aged seven years, four years and eight months, from the same family, are also said to have died while their mother was critically injured.

The accident occurred at around 1am, according to witness accounts.

Earlier reports from the bus management in Wajir indicated they had lost eight passengers in the bus while three passengers in the lorry are also said to have died.

A majority of the passengers were from Wajir.

HELP
Wajir East Deputy county commissioner Solomon Komen said the bus, which belonged to Sabrin company, left Wajir at 4pm on Monday.

“We have been communicating with some of the passengers who told us that at least eight people died,” he said.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Hassan Ahmed, a passenger who was travelling from Nairobi to Wajir in a different vehicle, said when they arrived at the scene, the injured were crying for help.

He said the two vehicles had crashed into each other and, with the help of another vehicle, they separated the two vehicles in order to help the passengers who were stuck in the front seats of both vehicles.

SURVIVORS
Ahmed said that together with other passengers, they tried to help the victims, adding that he counted about 11 bodies.

Police and an ambulance later arrived and took the injured to Garissa Referral Hospital.

Another witness, Mr Patrick Mugendi, a mechanic with the Trans County bus that was travelling from Nairobi to Wajir, said when they got to the scene, the driver of the lorry was still alive but trapped.

“I used my car jack to hit the dash board and the metal that was lying on the driver’s leg to free him from the wreckage.

"I could see around two to three people who appeared dead in the lorry while we used pangas and an axe to free the passengers who were crying and screaming for help,” he said.