Death Toll from Salgaa Accident Along Nakuru-Eldoret Highway Rises to 12

At least 12 people were killed Tuesday morning in a bus accident along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway involving a bus.

Seven bodies had earlier been retrieved from the scene before police and other rescuers found five more trapped in the bus wreckage.

The victims were trapped for hours as rescuers struggled to rescue them. This is after the bus hit the barrier there and landed in a ditch.

Police and rescuers said about 36 other passengers were injured in the 5 am incident.

The bus headed for Nakuru direction from Kericho is said to have lost its brakes as the driver negotiated the steep stretch.

The bus rammed onto the barriers on the stretch and other vehicles ahead of it before it landed in a ditch. Some passengers who survived the accident said the bus was headed for Mombasa.

Rift Valley police boss Jasper Ombati led a team to the scene. He said they are investigating how the accident happened even as families agonized the tragedy.

Read: Seven People Killed in Accident at Salgaa Along Nakuru-Eldoret Highway 

Kenya Red Cross said they had helped in rescuing and taking at least 36 people to Molo and Coptic Hospitals following the accident at Migaa area.

Those in hospitals had multiple injuries.

This is the latest incident to be reported since the weekend.

The scene was bad with rescuers fearing the toll may increase.

Police said this was the latest accident to be reported since the weekend in which more than ten people were killed.

Up to 4,000 people are killed annually in separate accidents. Many others are left with injuries in the incidents that hurt families.

In October 2023, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) unveiled the National Road Safety Action Plan (2023- 2027) which aims to achieve a 50 percent reduction in deaths and severe injuries in designated high-risk demonstration corridors and urban areas.