Image copyright AFP Image caption Children are believed to be among the dead

At least 50 people were killed when a bus travelling from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to Kisumu, in the west, veered off the road, police say.

The bus was overloaded and speeding, a survivor told local media.

Police said the driver lost control and the vehicle plunged down a slope at a notorious accident black spot. The roof was ripped off.

Twelve women and seven children were among those killed in the crash on Wednesday morning.

The bus was carrying at least 70 passengers, some standing, a male survivor told The Standard.

He said the driver was not following traffic rules but that he chose not to raise his concerns because the bus crew would have beaten him up.

He described the bus crew as "very arrogant".

Image copyright AFP Image caption The roof of the bus was ripped off after it overturned

The government agency in charge of road safety said the bus did not have a license to travel at night.

The accident happened at 05:00 local time (02:00 GMT) in Fort Ternan town, 80km (50 miles) away from Kisumu, local media reported.

An eyewitness described hearing "a long hooting sound, then a screech that was followed by a bang and loud screams," the Daily Nation reported.

A number of people were taken to hospital, it said.

Kenyan roads can be notoriously dangerous and the World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked Kenya as one of the world's worst countries for road safety.

In the past 10 months, 2,345 people have been killed in road crashes across the country, an 8% increase compared with last year, the BBC's Wanyama Chebusiri in Nairobi, reports.

Claims of police taking bribes from traffic offenders have also contributed to road accidents in the country, our reporter adds.</s>Nairobi: Fifty-one people were killed when the bus they were travelling in overturned and its entire roof was ripped off in an accident in western Kenya early on Wednesday, police said.

"It is unfortunate that we have lost 51 people," Kenya's police chief Joseph Boinnet told Capital FM radio.

According to police, the bus was travelling from Nairobi to the western town of Kakamega and carrying 52 passengers.

The Kenyan Red Cross wrote on Twitter that it had overturned. However more details on the cause of the accident were not immediately available.

Footage from the scene showed the faded red bus lying on its side, the seats and mangled bits of metal exposed to the air with the torn-off roof lying at a distance. Dozens of people milled around the accident site and goods were strewn over a large area.

Official statistics show that around 3,000 people die annually in road accidents in Kenya, but the World Health Organisation estimates the figure could be as high as 12,000.

In December 2017, 36 people died in a head-on collision between a bus and a lorry. In 2016 more than 40 people died when an out-of-control fuel tanker ploughed into vehicles and then exploded on a busy highway.</s>NAIROBI (Reuters) - At least 50 people died in a bus crash on Wednesday between Kenya’s capital Nairobi and the western city of Kisumu, police told the Daily Nation newspaper.

Witnesses said the bus swerved off the road while driving down a steep slope, the newspaper said.

Reuters could not immediately reach a police spokesman to confirm the information.</s>Fifty people have died after a bus crashed in the western Kenyan town of Kericho.

Rift Valley regional police chief Francis Munyambu said survivors from the bus which was travelling from Nairobi to western town of Kakamega are receiving treatment in hospital.

The accident happened at around 4am on Wednesday (2am Irish Time).

The vehicle is said to have left the road and rolled down a slope before crashing.

Kenya has struggled to reduce the rising number of road accidents as more people acquire vehicles in the country’s growing middle class.

Kenyan police investigate the scene of the bus crash(Washington Sigu/AP)

In 2013, the government re-introduced breathalysers but had to remove them again after court orders barred police from charging drivers using readings from the devices as evidence.

According to government statistics, around 3,000 Kenyans die every year in road accidents.</s>At least 50 people were killed when a bus travelling from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to Kisumu, in the west, veered off the road, police say.....Read more via Leadership Newspaper – https://ift.tt/2EcrLCN Get More Nigeria Metro News</s>At least 50 people have been killed after a bus travelling from the Kenyan capital Nairobi to Kisumu, in the west, veered off the road, police say.

Many reportedly died when the vehicle overturned. Police fear the death toll may rise, with the possibility of passengers trapped in the wreckage.

"The roof of the bus was ripped off," a local official said.

Police said the driver had lost control and plunged down a slope at a notorious accident black spot.

"It is unfortunate that we have lost 51 people," Kenya's police chief Joseph Boinnet told Capital FM radio.

The bus was carrying 52 passengers at the time of the crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said.

Children are believed to be among the dead.

An eyewitness described hearing "a long hooting sound, then a screech that was followed by a bang and loud screams," Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation reported.

The newspaper added that a number of people had been taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Highway roads in Kenya can be notoriously dangerous and the World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked Kenya as one of the world's worst countries for road safety.

Last December, some 36 people died in a head-on collision between a lorry and a Nairobi-bound bus on a road near Migaa in Kenya.

In 2016, several vehicles were engulfed in flames in a crash involving an oil tanker in Naivasha, Kenya, which killed dozens of people.</s>At least 50 people were killed on Wednesday morning in the Kenyan town of Kericho after the bus they were travelling in veered off the road and rolled down a slope, AP reported. At least eight among the deceased are children, according to Kenyan newspaper The Daily Nation.

The accident took place around 4 am (6.30 am Indian time) on Wednesday, when the bus was going from the capital city Nairobi to Kisumu in the west of the country.

Police said the toll may rise as some passengers are expected to be trapped in the wreckage. The injured were being treated at local hospitals.

In December 2017, as many as 36 people had died in a head-on collision between a bus and a lorry on a highway in central Kenya.</s>At least 50 people, including seven children, were killed in a bus crash west of Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday, police said.

The bus was traveling from the Kenyan capital to the port city of Kisumu when the driver lost control while going down a steep slope, authorities said.

Kericho County Police Commander James Mugera told CNN that authorities believe the driver “lost control of his vehicle,” in the predawn hours on the Kisumu — Muhoroni highway in Fort Ternan, Kericho County, a region north west of Nairobi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta posted a message on his Twitter page offering “heartfelt condolences to the families of fellow Kenyans who lost their lives in a tragic road accident at Fort Ternan in Kericho County this morning.” He also wished a “quick recovery” for those who were injured in the crash. The injured were taken to local hospitals, the Kenyan Red Cross said.</s>At least 50 people have died in a bus crash between Kenya's capital Nairobi and the western city of Kisumu, police say.

Witnesses said the bus swerved off the road while driving down a steep slope, the Daily Nation newspaper said.

Rift Valley regional police boss Francis Munyambu said survivors were receiving treatment at local hospitals. The accident happened around 4am (local time) on Wednesday.

Kenya has struggled to reduce the rising number of road accidents as more people acquire vehicles in the country's growing middle class.

In 2013, the government reintroduced breathalysers, but had to remove them again after court orders barred police from charging drivers using readings from the devices as evidence.

According to government statistics, around 3000 Kenyans die every year in road accidents.</s>At least 50 people have been killed after a bus travelling from the Kenyan capital Nairobi to Kisumu, in the west, veered off the road, police say, the BBC reports.

Many reportedly died when the vehicle overturned. Police fear the death toll may rise, with the possibility of passengers trapped in the wreckage.

“The roof of the bus was ripped off,” a local official said.

Police said the driver had lost control and plunged down a slope at a notorious accident black spot.

“It is unfortunate that we have lost 51 people,” Kenya’s police chief Joseph Boinnet told Capital FM radio.

The bus was carrying 52 passengers at the time of the crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said.
At least 51 people are killed when a bus traveling from the Kenyan capital Nairobi to Kisumu veers off the road and overturns.