Survivors of Koru crash speak as death toll rises to five

Despite the excruciating pain on the right side of her abdomen, Ms Atamba’s greatest concern is the life of her daughter, Faith Masitsa, whom she has not seen since the accident occurred.

“I have just been informed by my relatives a while ago that she was taken to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) with a broken leg,” she explained amid groans.

The mother and daughter were travelling from Bondo where Atamba had gone to pick the Form Three girl from Nyakongo Girls Secondary School for half-term break, when the bus collided with a truck at Kambi Awendo in Koru, Kisumu County.

“After travelling for about two hours, I heard a bang followed by screams for help. Thereafter, I lost consciousness and only woke up here at the hospital without my daughter,” she said. 

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Ms Atamba and her daughter were occupying the seats on the right-hand side of the bus towards the rear at the time of the deadly crash. 

“My only wish for now is to see my daughter,” she said.

A few metres away, outside the male ward, we spot a heavily bandaged stout man donning the blue hospital uniform. 

The facility’s administrator, Ambia Mmera, quickly informs us that he was the man behind the wheel of the ill-fated bus.

With the bandage covering almost three quarters of his face, James Andere, recounted what transpired.

“The truck, which was coming from the opposite direction, swerved towards my side of the road and hit the bus causing me to lose control of the vehicle,” he explained. 

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Mr Andere said that the 62-seater bus was heading to Nairobi from Luanda Kotieno in Siaya.

“From Luanda Kotieno, we passed by Bondo town where we picked up more passengers,” said Mr Andere who was due for a CT-scan test.

On the bed adjacent to that of Mr Andere was Mr Elijah Ochieng, another survivor. Mr Ochieng said he was travelling to Nairobi to follow up on unclaimed financial assessment authority payment for a welfare group he belongs to when his trip was cut short.

“I was almost dosing off when I had a loud bang and the vehicle started swaying. I clung firmly on the seat in front of me never to let go until the bus finally came to a stop. Unfortunately, the woman who was seated next to me was tossed out of the window and died on the spot,’’ he narrated.

Ms Mmera said that a total of nine survivors were brought to the facility on Monday night but one of them, who was severely injured, later succumbed to her injuries as she was being transferred to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.

“We also received four dead bodies from the accident scene. But now the number has increased to five following the death of the woman who was being transferred to JOOTRH. Out of the remaining eight patients, only one is critically ill, the rest are stable,” she said.

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Ms Mmera said that among the dead are three female passengers and two males.

“We have managed to locate their relatives apart from the one who is critically sick,” she said.

While confirming the incident, Muhoroni Sub-county police commander Fredrick Ombaka condemned area residents for choosing to loot from the injured passengers instead of assisting them to get medical help.

“For the first time, I saw people stealing a car steering wheel! Honestly speaking, this must stop. I am appealing to members of the public to try and be a little compassionate,” he said.

The truck, which was ferrying diapers towards Kisumu, also had its contents looted by the rowdy crowd.

Mr Ombaka disclosed that they had already identified the driver of the truck.

“Once he (the driver) has recorded a statement with the police, then we shall take the next cause of action,” he said.