TUM students injured as bus crashes on Kisumu-Awasi highway

More than 20 students from the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) were injured after a bus they were travelling in was involved in a serious road accident along the Kisumu-Awasi highway on Friday.

There were reports up to six students had died in the accident.

The students were en route to Kisumu County to attend the burial of former student leader Elvis Otieno, popularly known as Beast, when the accident occurred before they reached their destination.

Authorities had not confirmed the number of casualties by the time of publication, although reports from the scene indicated that many students sustained injuries.

Earlier claims circulating on social media about fatalities had not been officially verified. Police confirmed there were casualties in the accident but did not provide further details.

Siaya Governor James Orengo, however, suggested that lives had been lost in the crash.

“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of several university students along the Awasi–Ahero highway. They were traveling from Mombasa to Kisumu to pay their last respects to Elvis Otieno alias ‘Beast,’ former student leader of Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), a journey of solidarity that ended in unimaginable grief.

To the grieving families, friends, and the entire TUM comrade fraternity, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this dark hour. May God grant you strength, and may their young souls rest in eternal peace,” Orengo said in a post on social media.

Preliminary reports indicate that the bus lost control, veered off the road and overturned.

Witnesses said many students were injured in the crash, while others were briefly trapped inside the wreckage.

Police officers, emergency responders and members of the public mounted a rescue operation, helping evacuate survivors and rushing the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Images and videos from the scene showed the 50-seater bus extensively damaged, with its front section crushed and the windscreen completely shattered, underscoring the severity of the impact.

By Friday afternoon, police had not issued an official statement on the cause of the accident. Investigators are expected to examine the scene to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash after rescue operations are concluded.

Authorities are also expected to release the confirmed number of those killed and injured after their next of kin have been notified.

The accident occurred as family members, friends and former student leaders from across the country gathered in Awasi for the burial of Elvis Otieno.

The crash adds to a growing number of serious road accidents reported across Kenya in recent weeks, renewing concerns over road safety and adherence to traffic regulations.