10 people have been confirmed dead following a tragic road accident in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County involving a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) matatu full of passengers.
Preliminary reports indicate that the accident which happened on Saturday, June 8, involved a matatu operating under MUNA Sacco which normally plies the Nairobi-Murang’a route, and trailer.
Naivasha OCPD Stephen Kirui has since confirmed the 10 deaths in a statement to the press.
Witnesses at the scene reported that the PSV was ferrying passengers for a function when the trailer lost control and rammed into it killing almost all the occupants.
Photos seen by The Kenya Times showed the wreckage of a completely damaged matatu indicating that the level of survival was minimal.
10 Deaths Confirmed in Mai Mahiu Accident
The trailer also suffered an impact following the Mai Mahiu crash with different parts of both vehicles strewn all over.
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Other photos showed bodies of the victims lying covered at the scene as a crowd of witnesses milled around to have a glimpse.
Police officers were also seen at the scene of the accident, with their presence confirming that they had already managed the situation.
The wreckage of the deformed matatu has since been towed from the area. However, by the time of publishing this article it had not been confirmed where the matatu was heading to.
The Mai Mahiu accident adds to a list of recent crashes that have claimed the lives of Kenyans.
Back on May 25, 2024, five people were confirmed dead following a tragic accident that also involved a PSV matatu and a truck along the busy Nakuru – Eldoret Highway.
Nakuru County police boss Samuel Ndanyi while confirming the passing deaths in the crash that happened in Migaa area of Uasin Gishu County said that the accident happened at around 3.30am.
Also Read: Accident Alert: One Killed, Several Injured in Early Morning Crash
The police boss in a statement on noted that the matatu was travelling from the Eldoret direction, adding that four women were among the dead whereas a man also lost his life.
NTSA Data on Accidents
According to data released by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) back in April, losing control was attributed as Kenya’s main cause of road crashes in the year 2024.
The Authority listed it as the main cause of road crashes this year while also announcing accidents across the country had claimed 1554 lives as of end April since the year started.
Pedestrians were ranked to be the most vulnerable road users with NTSA saying that of the lives lost, 574 of the fatalities were pedestrians.
Following closely are motorcyclists who recorded 356 while 329 passengers died in the period under review.
At least 134 drivers have died in the first four months of 2024 while pillion passengers recorded 129 deaths and 32 pedal cyclists also died in the same period.
At the same time, NTSA noted that the month of March was the deadliest recording 403 road fatalities followed closely by the month of April with 388 deaths.
In terms of Counties that recorded high number of crash fatalities, Nairobi County led accounting for the highest number at 176.
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