Nairobi, Oct 3: At least 13 people, most of them Catholic pilgrims, were killed in a multi-vehicle road accident on a highway leading to Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, police said on Saturday.
The crash occurred after midnight in the Salama area when a truck driver reportedly attempted to overtake another truck but failed. The truck then swerved, triggering a collision involving several vehicles, including a van carrying pilgrims, according to police.
The truck driver and at least 12 passengers travelling in the van died at the scene, police said.
The pilgrims were travelling to a prayer site in Nakuru County, west of Nairobi, according to Martin Kivuva, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.
Authorities had not immediately confirmed the total number of pilgrims travelling in the van or whether any of them survived the crash.
Road accidents remain a major concern in several parts of Africa, with factors such as speeding, poorly maintained vehicles and inadequate road conditions frequently cited as contributing causes.
