Seven family members among 16 dead in night of horror accidents

Sixteen people died in two separate road accidents in Maai Mahiu and Salgaa on Friday night.

The dead include seven members of the same family, who died in the road crash at Salgaa trading centre on the busy Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

The accident occurred at around 2:30 am and involved a personal vehicle that was heading to Kitale, a Greenline matatu and a truck-trailer from Eldoret.

Rongai police boss (OCPD) Joseph Mwamburi told the Nation that the personal vehicle was trying to overtake the bus when the accident occurred.

The personal vehicle was ferrying members of the same family. It attempted to overtake the bus when it collided head-on with an oncoming trailer," he said.

Those who died were a father, his son and daughter, his daughter in law (sons' wife), and three grandchildren. They were all coming from a relative's burial in Nyeri.

The bodies were taken to Nakuru County mortuary as the extensively damaged Toyota 110, the truck and the bus were towed to Salgaa police base.

BURST INTO FLAMES

In the Maai Mahiu incident, nine passengers died after a Nairobi-bound Transline matatu burst into flames after colliding head-on with a lorry transporting sand.

A majority of those who died had been trapped inside the vehicle, making rescue efforts difficult.

Five passengers who survived were taken to Kijabe Mission Hospital. The driver, who was also rescued, has since gone missing.