NAIROBI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were killed and over 40 others injured in two separate road accidents in Kenya on Monday evening.
In the first accident, 10 people were killed when two commuter vehicles and a truck were involved in a head-on collision at Salama area, along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, the police said, adding that four passengers were killed on the spot while others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
According to a security report, more than 10 others were injured in the accident, which happened after two minibuses, commonly known as matatus, collided head-on with an oncoming truck.
The police said the truck driver failed to keep to its proper traffic lane and also abruptly turned right.
In the second accident, one student was killed and at least 33 were injured in an accident involving a bus that was carrying students in Kisumu, western Kenya.
Nyanza Regional Traffic Commander Allan Mwangi said the driver of the bus, which was ferrying the students to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, lost control of the vehicle at a roundabout in Kisumu city.
Since January, about 1,000 people have lost their lives in road accidents across Kenya, according to National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) statistics.
According to the police, fatal accidents are common in Kenya due to reckless driving, drunk driving, drunk walking, drunk riding, and failure to use helmets.
An estimated 3,500 Kenyans die in road accidents annually, despite efforts by the state and the private sector to promote safety on the highways, according to the NTSA. ■
