SALAMA, Kenya
At any rate seven people died and 27 others sustained critical injuries early Monday following a major multi-vehicle traffic accident along the busy Nairobi–Mombasa Highway.
Local police and traffic commanders confirmed the midnight crash occurred at the Salama blackspot in Makueni County .
The incident involved a commercial bus, a heavy-duty cargo truck, two private saloon vehicles, and a commercial motorcycle .
According to eyewitness accounts, the truck driver lost control of the vehicle due to suspected mechanical brake failure .
The truck subsequently rammed into oncoming traffic, causing the passenger bus to overturn into a nearby ditch .
Emergency response teams, county ambulance services, and local volunteers worked through the night to extricate passengers trapped inside the wreckage .
The injured survivors were rushed to nearby sub-county hospitals for emergency medical stabilization .
Police have launched a formal investigation into the structural integrity of the commercial truck .
Traffic operations along the main economic corridor faced major disruptions for several hours as cranes cleared the damaged vehicles .
