'National emergency': 24 dead in Kenya bus crash near site of previous fatal accident

Kenya's transport safety authority is calling for road crashes to be declared a "national emergency" after 24 people died in a head on collision on the highway linking Nairobi and Mombasa. President Ruto has ordered the inspection of all public service vehicles.

At least 24 people have been killed after a bus collided with a truck on Kenya's main highway.

Some 24 others were injured in the Sunday morning crash.

Passengers on the bus were returning to Mombasa after attending the funeral of their church pastor in western Kenya.

Authorities say the accident was due to "improper overtaking."

Reverend Spencier Mdave was a passenger on the bus:

"Those of us who witnessed the ordeal say that the trailer tried to overtake our bus only to meet on-coming traffic and tried to abort the overtake. That is when they lost control.

"Those who got severely injured are the people who sat the back of the bus. Those of us who were sat in front are a bit better and have even been discharged. Like me, I only got a few bruises and I have been here since the accident but I feel no pain on my body."

Sunday's crash comes just three weeks after 17 people died in another accident along the same highway. It links the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa.

Transport safety officials are calling for road accidents to be declared a "national disaster."

They said about 20,000 crashes claim more than 5,000 lives a year.

President William Ruto send his condolences to the families of the deceased and ordered the inspection of all public service vehicles to ensure compliance to eliminate road accidents.

He urged drivers “to exercise utmost caution and observe traffic rules to safeguard lives."

Speeding and poor road conditions have previously been cited as contributing factors in road accidents in Kenya.

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