A bus carrying mourners from a funeral has crashed in western Kenya, killing 25 people, local authorities say.

The driver lost control, veered off the road and overturned into a ditch along the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway on Friday afternoon, a police report seen by the BBC says. This area is notorious for many deadly accidents.

Police said 10 women, 10 men and one girl died at the scene, with 20 passengers injured, five of them seriously. Four people later died in hospital, officials said.

The passengers were returning from a burial ground and are all believed to be from one family.

The cause of the crash is not yet clear, police said.

The vehicle was a secondary school bus, but there were no students on board as it was being used for the funeral transport.

The bus was coming from a burial ceremony at Nyahera and going to Nyakach, a distance of about 62 km (38.5 miles).

Kenya’s Ministry of Health made a call for an “urgent blood drive” to help survivors and extended its “condolences to the bereaved”.

It also urged motorists to exercise caution, especially as the country deals with numerous fatal road accidents.

Kenyan President William Ruto called on X for authorities to quickly book “those responsible for any acts of negligence leading to the accident and address all traffic violations to ensure road safety across the country”.

The National Transport and Safety Authority of Kenya said they will aid investigations into the cause of the crash.

This crash comes after six people died earlier this week when a light aircraft belonging to a medical charity crashed in Nairobi.

On Thursday, nine people were killed when a bus collided with a train in the town of Naivasha, local media reported. And on Saturday, seven people were killed in another crash near Nairobi, according to media reports.

Between 2020 and 2021, Kenyan road deaths rose more than 20%. In 2021, more than 4,500 people were killed and more than 16,000 injured.

Source: BBC

--Agencies