41 perish in horror Narok bus accident 41 perish in horror Narok bus accident Posted by: The People in Main story August 30, 2013 0 93 Views It was a scene from hell. I saw blood, shoes, body parts and a wreckage of a bus that had no roof!” That was how The People photographer, Samuel Kariuki, one of the first media people to arrive at the scene of the horror Narok bus crash, described the dawn accident that claimed 41 lives in Narok County and caused severe injuries to the few who survived. The latest horror on Kenyan roads struck again when a speeding bus rolled on a dangerous sec- tion of road at Ntulele shopping centre, along the Nairobi-Narok road, to cause the highest single death toll on the highways this year. No eye witnesses could describe what exactly happened as the accident occured in pitch darkness, at 2am, but the Kenya Red Cross that conducted rescue later said: “The bus careened off the road and rolled into a valley at Pinyiny hill near Ntulele, in Narok. The top was ripped off.” Forty one people, among them four children, perished in the grisly horror after the bus that was travel- ling to Homa Bay, from Nairobi, rolled about ten times into a steep valley. Witnesses at Ntulele said all they could hear were groans and screaming by dying victims in the dark. It took almost one hour before the first rescuers could make it to the scene where the mangled wreck lay, metres away from the highway. “We used torches to locate the scene. Everything had gone quiet, even those who had been screaming were quiet because nearly every passenger was dead. We saw bodies entangled in the grass, others were under the wreckage. The scene was smelling of blood and many of those who had come to the rescue ran away,” said Zachary Ntutu, a herder who lives at Ntulele. Thirty three other passengers sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Narok District hospital and Kijabe Mission hospital by the first rescuers on the scene. Of the 33, four with critical injuries were later referred to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment, but one died on the way. According to the police who arrived at the scene before dawn, 35 people died on the spot while six succumbed to injuries at the hospitals. Among those who died were five members of the same family who were travelling to Ndhiwa, Homabay County, for the funeral of their mother scheduled for this weekend. And even as rescue work continued on the first accident, another two people died in another accident that occurred in the afternoon, a few kilometres from the scene of the first one. The second accident involved three vehicles, a lorry and two saloon cars. Six people sustained serious injuries and were taken to Narok District hospital which was over-whelmed with victims of the first accident. From the first accident, police suspected the bus, branded City to City, must have been moving at break- neck speed when it veered off the road, judging by the impact that reduced it to a pile of metal. Reports also indicated the bus was not licenced to ply the route, with police suspecting the driver might have been unfamiliar with the blackspot section where it rolled. The bus was also carrying corrugated iron sheets on its roof that contributed to the death toll, with several victims having their necks severed. Confirming the death toll, Traffic Commandant Samuel Kimaru who arrived at the scene in the morning, attributed the accident to possible driver’s negligence, whom he suspected was either asleep or was speeding moments before the crash. Police said the bus was overloaded as it had 74 instead of 64 passengers it was licenced to carry. Police were, by the time of going to the press, trying to identify the driver among unconscious victims. “We can confirm 41 deaths and 33 people in hospitals with multiple injuries and indications are that the driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle due to high speed and overloading. It is a sad thing, we have been able to recover all bodies that had been trapped under the bus wreckage,” said Kimaru. At Narok District hospital confusion and panic appeared to grip every section as the injured and bodies were wheeled in. Bodies were piled on the floor of the hospital’s small mortuary which has a capacity for only ten bodies, while the injured were first laid on the floor of the casualty section, be- fore they could attended to. Rescue operations were jointly carried out by Kenya Red Cross from Naivasha and Narok, wananchi and the police. Condoling with the families of those who perished in the accident, President Uhuru Kenyatta sent a terse warning of dire consequences, to drivers and vehicle owners flouting traffic rules, noting the country can- not tolerate losing innocent lives due to negligence on roads. “We are going to take action now, not just against the drivers but even car owners themselves. Car owners must now bear the burden of ensuring that their cars are driven in accordance with the traffic laws,” warned Uhuru. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula, Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia and Interior Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo were among other national leaders who sent their condolences to the families of victims. “I am greatly saddened at the tragic news of a bus accident that has seen us lose 41 Kenyan souls. My family’s condolences go out to the bereaved and all those affected. We shall support you in any way we can,” said Odinga. Narok governor Samuel Tunei also visited the scene of the accident and later Narok District hospital where he wished the survivors quick recovery. Police blamed the frequent accidents on the Ntulele blackspot to a decision to remove roadblocks from the Mahi-Mahiu road after protests by tourists van drivers who demonstrated recently along the highway. It also emerged that the affected bus company, like many others plying the route, were notorious for flouting traffic rules. Going by police records, another bus from the same company was last week held by police in Garissa for over speeding and having faulty speed governors. - By LUKE AWICH CAPTION: HORROR: The wreckage of the bus belonging to City to City company is prepared for towing from the scene of accident at Ntulele, along Narok Mai Mahiu road. PHOTO: SAMUEL KARIUKI
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 12:00:19 +0000
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