1st LD Writhru: At least 27 killed in road accident in eastern Kenya

At least 27 people were killed and several others injured early Tuesday in a grisly road accident involving an oil tanker and a commuter bus along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

The bus was travelling to Nairobi when it collided head-on with the truck at Kambu area near Makindu after midnight, said Kibwezi divisional police commander Leonard Kimaiyo.

"We have lost many people and others are seriously wounded," Kimaiyo noted.

He said the bus driver was trying to overtake other vehicles when it collided with the oncoming truck, adding he feared that the death toll would rise because many others were seriously injured.

"We have rushed the injured to Makindu hospital for medical attention," said Kimaiyo, noting that several people were trapped after the midnight accident and it took long to free them and take them to hospital.

Kenya ranks first in African countries with the highest toll of road accidents caused by over speeding and lethargic enforcement of traffic rules.

Government statistics indicated that the East African nation lost at least 3,000 people annually due to road accidents, of which almost half were pedestrians. Endi