Nairobi: The driver of a bus traveling on a dark, country road in Kenya lost control of the vehicle early Thursday and it plunged into a valley, shearing the roof off as it rolled and killing at least 41 people, officials said.
Police said more than two dozen others were injured. Police officer Samuel Kimaru said the bus veered off the road around 2 a.m. and landed on its roof.
The accident occurred near Narok, 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of Nairobi. Deadly road accidents are common in Kenya, where highways frequently lack safety features like guard rails, reflective paint or lights.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Twitter that authorities will take action not only against drivers who cause such accidents but owners of the vehicles as well, in this case a private bus company.
“We are losing too many Kenyans through road accidents and the onus is us as car owners, as commuters, as traffic police and as leaders,” Kenyatta said.
The World Health Organization says that between 3,000 and 13,000 Kenyans lose their lives in traffic crashes every year, a third of whom are killed in “unsafe forms of public transportation.”
Kenya's Red Cross maintains a popular Twitter feed filled daily with updates on traffic accidents around the country. Only hours after the deadly bus crash the Red Cross said that two trucks plunged into a river elsewhere. No fatalities were reported.
