Stringer/Portal
Local residents gather at the scene of the accident on Saturday, when a truck carrying a shipping container went off the road and rammed several vehicles at an open market in Londiani, western Kenya.
CNN –
At least 48 people were killed in a road accident in Londiani, western Kenya, on Friday night when a truck carrying a shipping container ran off the road and rammed several vehicles, police and witnesses said.
Footage of the aftermath of the accident, broadcast by local stations, showed twisted wreckage of cars and motorcycles, and damaged minibuses and trucks.
Regional Police Commander Tom Odera said the death toll was 48 as of Friday night.
“I saw an oncoming trailer coming at high speed. I dodged and escaped when I hit him head-on. The person standing behind me thought I was going to buy something. He overtook me and got hit in the process. The trailer went off the road and crashed into other vehicles,” said Peter Otieno, a driver.
“I saw about 20 bodies with my own eyes. There were more bodies under the vehicle.”
According to the Kenya Red Cross, the truck hit more than six vehicles and ran over pedestrians. More than 20 injured people were taken to local hospitals, according to the Red Cross.
Andrew Kasuku/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A view of the scene after a truck crashed into a market in the Londiani area of Kericho.
“The country mourns with the families who lost loved ones in a horrific road accident in Londiani,” Kenyan President William Ruto wrote in a tweet.
“It is worrying that some of the fatalities are young people with bright futures and business people going about their daily business.”
The accident is one of the deadliest on Kenya’s roads in recent years. Last year, 34 people died in central Kenya when their bus went off a bridge and into a river valley.