At least thirty four people have died after a bus they were traveling in plunged into River Nithi in Tharaka Nithi county yesterday.
The Nithi bridge accident involved a Mombasa bound bus, Modern Coast, that plunged into River Nithi after the driver lost control due to brake failure.
Tharaka Nithi County Police Commander Donatha Chali said that the driver of the bus approached the bridge at high speed and ignored the traffic signs alerting motorists to slow down.
“The bus must have developed brake failure because it was moving at a very high speed when the accident happened,” a witness stated.
According to eyewitnesses, the bus appeared to have been faced with brake failure while treading downhill, making it impossible for the driver to exert his control on the coach.
Through a statement, Modern Coast company stated that the 45-seater vehicle, registration number KCF 614 U, was not fully booked.
A month ago, another matatu had a similar accident on the same bridge claiming one life leaving 13 others with grave injuries.
The black spot, which is about 10 kilometers from Chuka town, has been home to many fatal accidents, with most of them being blamed on brake failure.
The accident’s catastrophe was so frequent that it led to an appeal by the public to have its location changed.
In February last year, five people died while four others were injured in a road crash at Nithi bridge.
The accident occurred when a truck collided with a matatu. Only one passenger in the matatu survived the crash.
Tharaka Nithi County Police Commander, Donatha Chali said in a statement that the bridge is a known danger spot but many of the drivers passing through that location were still speeding despite the presence of warning signs while approaching the bridge from both sides.
Muthomi Njuki, Tharaka Nithi governor, had assured that he will accelerate the re-engineering of the bridge in order to reduce accidents within his first 100 days in office. He promised this in his 2017 campaign manifesto.
However, despite the governor’s pledges, nothing has yet been done to rectify the matter as lives are still being lost and properties damaged in the grueling accidents occurring on the dreaded bridge.