Eight killed as bus collides with shuttle at Sachangwan

Three more people have succumbed to injuries they sustained after a bus ferrying pupils from western Kenya to Nairobi collided with a shuttle at Sachangwan on the Eldoret-Nakuru highway.

Their deaths bring the death toll from the crash to eight, the Kenya Red Cross said on Friday evening.

The bus belonging to Easy Coach company was ferrying pupils from St Peter’s Mumias Boys Primary School and students from St Claires Maragoli Girls who are on recess after schools closed on Thursday for the December holidays.

The Nation.co.ke team at the scene said among the dead are the driver of the matatu belonging to Prestige Shuttle, a woman and her baby.

Regional Traffic Enforcement Officer Joseph Muthee confirmed that four adults and a child were among those killed in the crash.

According to the officer, initial investigations indicate the matatu — heading to Kisumu from Nairobi — was trying to overtake on the climbing lane when it collided with the bus.

The injured were rushed to Evans, Nakuru Level Five and Molo Sub-County hospitals.

About 45 pupils and an adult, who was still trapped in the wreckage when the Nation team arrived at the scene, were on the bus.

St Peter’s Boys Primary School deputy headteacher William Mayoye said the bus had 34 pupils from his school.

The bus had picked them up at 6:30am.

He said they learnt about the accident from distressed parents who started calling the school when news broke about the crash.

He said the school always books a bus from Easy Coach for its pupils who hail from Nairobi when it closes for holidays.

The bus had collected the school's pupils before picking up seven students from St Claires Maragoli Girls at around 8am.

The shaken children remained stranded at the scene after the accident.