At least 5 killed in Western Kenya road accident

At least five people were killed and 12 others were seriously injured in Migori, Western Kenya after the vehicle they were travelling in lost control and rolled many times on Tuesday night.

Police said that the driver of the 14-seater Nissan vehicle lost control of the vehicle after it hit a boulder in the middle of the busy Migori-Kisii highway.

Migori County police commander Jacob Kaberia blamed the driver for reckless driving and passengers for not tightening their seatbelts.

"Most of the passengers were thrown out from the wreckage and those who suffered broken limbs had not tightened their seatbelts. If they had fastened their seatbelts, their lives would be saved," he said on Wednesday.

Kaberia said police had difficulty in tracing both the survivors and dead persons since it was dark and the vehicle rolled in towards the thickets and bushes along the highway. It took them about three hours to retrieve the five bodies of the victim. The driver escaped after the incident.

One of the survivors of the road crash said the driver was overspeeding when he lost control of the vehicle. "We are looking for the whereabouts of the driver. He will be arrested and charged with reckless driving," said the victim.

Road accidents still continue to occur despite stringiest traffic rules which were introduced by the government to help curb road carnage. Latest official statistics showed, there were 2,907 people who died in road accident in the country last year. Endi