11 students from top Kenyan university killed in bus crash

Nairobi: A bus carrying students from a top Kenyan university collided with a truck on a busy highway after skidding in heavy rain, killing 11 of them...

Nairobi: A bus carrying students from a top Kenyan university collided with a truck on a busy highway after skidding in heavy rain, killing 11 of them and injuring 42 seriously, police said.

The accident occurred at 5:50 pm (1450 GMT) Monday at Maungu, 360 kilometres (220 miles) from the capital Nairobi, when the students from Kenyatta University where travelling to the coastal town of Mombasa.

Ten people died on impact and another died later in hospital, police said, adding that 42 people were seriously injured.

"The driver of (the) university bus was overtaking a fleet of motor vehicles and as it was raining heavily, the bus skidded to the right side of the road," the report said.

This "prompted the driver of the truck to avoid head on collision, hence hitting the left side of the university bus," it added.