Several students from the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) are feared dead after a tragic road accident involving a bus along the Kisumu-Awasi highway on Friday, August 7.
Preliminary reports indicated that the students were travelling to Kisumu County to attend the burial of former TUM student leader Elvis Otieno, popularly known as 'Beast'.
Witnesses said the bus lost control before veering off the road and overturning, leaving several students injured. However, authorities had not confirmed the exact number of fatalities and injuries by the time of publication.
Videos obtained by Vantage Ke and shared widely on social media showed the 50-seater bus badly wrecked, with its windscreen smashed and the front section completely crushed.
Emergency responders, police officers and members of the public rushed to the scene to rescue survivors, evacuate the injured to nearby hospitals and free passengers trapped inside the mangled bus.
Police had not issued an official statement on the cause of the accident or confirmed the casualty figures by the time of going to press. Investigations are expected to commence once rescue efforts are concluded.
Reacting to the tragedy, Siaya Governor James Orengo wrote on social media, "Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of several university students along the Awasi–Ahero highway. They were traveling from Mombasa to Kisumu to pay their last respects to Elvis Otieno alias 'Beast,' former student leader of Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), a journey of solidarity that ended in unimaginable grief."
"To the grieving families, friends, and the entire TUM comrade fraternity: my thoughts and prayers are with you during this dark hour. May God grant you strength, and may their young souls rest in eternal power," he added.
The accident occurred as family members, friends and former student leaders from different parts of the country gathered in Awasi to honour and celebrate the life of Elvis Otieno.
It also comes amid growing concern over the rising number of fatal road crashes across the country. Just a week earlier, eight people were killed in a horrific accident along the Mwea-Meru highway in Kirinyaga County.
The victims died after a lorry crashed into a tuk-tuk at Murubara on Saturday, August 1, while several others sustained serious injuries.
Mwea East Sub-County Police Commander Stephen Okal confirmed the incident, saying the victims died on the spot after the speeding parcel truck collided head-on with the tuk-tuk.
Police said the parcel truck was travelling from Mwea towards Embu when it crossed into the opposite lane and rammed into the oncoming tuk-tuk, which was headed for Ngurubani.
