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At least 31 dead, 33 injured in road accident in Kenya: police

At least 31 people were killed and 33 others seriously injured in a grisly road accident last night near Narok town, southwest of Kenya's capital Nairobi, police told Xinhua early today.

Traffic Police Commandant Samuel Kimaru said the accident involved a bus which was traveling to Homa Bay in Western Kenya along the Nairobi-Narok highway.

"So far 31 people have been killed and 33 others rushed to district hospital in Narok. The driver of the City to City passenger bus lost control at Ntulele area causing the accident," Kimaru told Xinhua from the scene.

He said rescuers struggled to remove bodies trapped under the bus. According to Kimaru, preliminary investigations revealed that the bus driver might have slept as he negotiated a drift at high speed.

"We fear the death toll could rise since there are many people who have been rushed to the hospital with serious injuries," Kimaru said.

The accident came as the National Traffic Safety Authority (NTSA) launched a program that will see motorists being charged on the spot after they were arrested for violating traffic rules.

The new program has rolled out 13 mobile inspection units, with each having a magistrate, a prosecutor and a prison officer accompanying the traffic officers to bring justice closer to the people.

NTSA Director General Isaac Kamau has attributed cases of increased road accidents to speeding, adding that his units will be targeting Public Service Vehicles with faulty speed governors.

Kenya is ranked among the countries with the highest fatal crash rates in the world following the increased cases of road accidents in the country.

The government has taken various measures to curb the scourge that is costing Kenyans lives, among them launching the NTSA three months ago that has been mandated to restore sanity on the roads. NTSA says the inspection program will run for 100 days.

National Police Chief David Kimaiyo has directed traffic police officers to be strict while enforcing traffic regulations on the road.


 

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