A collision between two trucks on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway early Monday morning led to a large fire and severe traffic congestion. A witness reported a delay in the emergency response that possibly contributed to two deaths. The road was blocked, causing a snarl-up stretching over five kilometres.
The accident occurred around 5am, according to a witness who is a truck driver. Two trailers collided, causing one to overturn and a large fire to erupt, prompting other drivers to start rescue efforts. The witness stated, “At around 5 am, we were heading towards Nairobi when the accident occurred after two trailers collided, causing one to overturn before a huge fire broke out. We were forced to stop our journey until rescue operations were completed and the road was cleared.”
Police reported that one driver was rescued and taken to hospital for treatment, but two people—a driver and his co-driver—died. Their bodies remained trapped inside the truck at the time of publication. The witness raised concerns about the emergency response, noting that the rescue team arrived a few minutes past 6am.
He added, “What we witnessed was a failure in the response unit. The accident happened around 5am, but the response team arrived a few minutes past 6am. There is a challenge with the response system because one of the drivers was rescued. If the response had arrived earlier, perhaps both drivers could have been saved.”
The collision blocked lanes heading to Nairobi on the busy highway, stranding motorists and passengers. Despite the presence of police and firefighters, the fire was not yet extinguished, and traffic built up on both sides of the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. One of the trucks was transporting fuel, with videos from the scene showing thick black smoke billowing in the morning hours. Firefighters continued working to contain the blaze, causing delays for travellers to and from the capital.