Blog

A road accident in the Katumba area along the Garissa-Nairobi highway has claimed the lives of 10 people, with 26 others sustaining injuries.

The majority of the victims are currently receiving treatment at the Garissa County Referral Hospital, where hospital authorities are appealing for blood donations to assist the affected passengers.

According to the survivors, the bus they were traveling in rammed into a stationary lorry carrying building materials parked by the roadside.

Garissa Referral Hospital Chief Administrator Mahat Salah confirmed that eight bodies were initially brought to the facility, with two more succumbing to their injuries at the hospital.

“Most of the casualties are in stable condition. Two are in critical state, one was treated and discharged while another one was amputated,” Salah said, emphasizing the need for blood donations to aid the recovery of the injured.

One of the survivors, Abdirahman Mohamed from Mandera town, recounted the horrific incident, stating that he was asleep when the accident occurred, only to find himself thrown out of the window of the bus.

“I can’t tell exactly how it happened, I remember a big bang, extreme shaking and cries from the victims,” he said, sustaining slight head injuries.

Another victim, Ibrahim Guracha, a civil servant from Elwak in Mandera County, blamed the driver of the stationary lorry for parking too close to the road, claiming that had the lorry been parked properly, the accident could have been avoided.

Guracha, who suffered a broken leg in the incident, expressed that the accident has completely changed his life.

Tragically, 5-year-old Mohamed Abdi survived the accident but lost his mother in the fatal crash.

The Bangale Subcounty OCPD, Ephraim Kimani, stated that all the bodies have been identified, and the Kenya Red Cross is currently contacting the families of the victims.

The bodies have been taken to the Garissa mortuary, awaiting burial in accordance with Islamic rites.