Several people are feared dead after a Tahmeed company bus collided head-on with a lorry along the Embu-Nairobi highway.
The horrific accident occurred at midnight on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, near the Embu sewerage.
Residents woke up to the sight of the mangled vehicles, with the bus completely losing its front section on impact from the collision.
The accident reportedly happened after the lorry’s driver lost control and crashed into another lorry, which then rammed into the oncoming bus.
The bus was en route to Mombasa when the tragedy struck, and according to a local radio station, only one person lost their life.
However, several passengers sustained severe injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals.
Authorities are conducting investigations to determine what the cause was, as the area was recently fitted with speed bumps to curb overspeeding.
Videos shared on social media showed onlookers gathering at the scene as people made frantic efforts to assist the injured.
The lorry is pictured lying on its side, with its rear section embedded in the front of the bus.
Infamous highway
The Meru-Nairobi highway is notorious for accidents, particularly involving larger vehicles like buses, due to the region’s hilly terrain.
In fact, some of Kenya’s most devastating road accidents have occurred along this highway, specifically at a bridge called Nithi, about 42 kilometres from Embu.
In one such accident, 35 people lost their lives after a bus heading to Mombasa lost its brakes and plunged into the river below.
The tragedy brought the quiet area to a standstill as residents recounted harrowing tales of what seemed like a scene from a movie.
Tharaka Nithi County Commissioner Nobert Komora, while issuing a statement about the accident on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, revealed that the bus had been carrying 44 passengers, and only 8 survived.
However, the bridge’s grim history doesn’t end there, as in the year 2000, a similar disaster struck when 45 people died after a bus heading in the same direction crashed at the site.
Only 27 of the 72 passengers onboard the Tawfic company bus survived the catastrophic crash.
