At Least 30 Killed in Bus Crash in Kenya

At least 30 people were killed in a bus crash in Kenya. (AP file photo)
At least 30 people were killed in a bus crash in Kenya. (AP file photo)
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At Least 30 Killed in Bus Crash in Kenya

At least 30 people were killed in a bus crash in Kenya. (AP file photo)
At least 30 people were killed in a bus crash in Kenya. (AP file photo)

At least 30 people were killed in Kenya on Sunday when a bus crashed into a truck.

A police official said at least 36 people were killed in the headlong collision that took place close to Nakuru town. Sixteen people were injured.

The accident occurred close to a notorious stretch on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway when a bus traveling from Busia, in western Kenya, collided with a truck coming from Nakuru. Police said the death toll for that stretch of road has now reached 100 this month alone.

Rift Valley traffic police chief Zero Arome said the bus's brakes are suspected to have failed.

He added that the drivers of both vehicles were among the dead, as well as a three-year-old child, while the injured had been taken to a Nakuru hospital.

One survivor, speaking from his hospital bed, said he had been asleep at the back of the bus when the collision happened.

"All I heard was a loud bang and screams from all over," he said. "I was seated at the back and was helped out after some time because my legs were stuck. It is by the grace of God that I am alive. I saw many people dead and their bodies mutilated."

The National Transport and Safety Authority has been criticized for failing to reduce road accidents, which account for around 3,000 Kenyan deaths every year.

While authorities have blamed careless road users, unroadworthy vehicles and speeding for the accidents, other observers say poor road construction and maintenance are to blame.



Mexican Authorities to Seal Secret Tunnel on US Border

 A National Guard agent inspects an illegal tunnel bound to El Paso in US, at the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on January 18, 2025. (AFP)
A National Guard agent inspects an illegal tunnel bound to El Paso in US, at the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on January 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Mexican Authorities to Seal Secret Tunnel on US Border

 A National Guard agent inspects an illegal tunnel bound to El Paso in US, at the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on January 18, 2025. (AFP)
A National Guard agent inspects an illegal tunnel bound to El Paso in US, at the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on January 18, 2025. (AFP)

A clandestine tunnel discovered on the US-Mexico border allowing entry from Ciudad Juarez into the Texan city of El Paso will be sealed by Mexican authorities, an army official said Saturday, adding that its construction was under investigation.

Discovered on January 10 by US and Mexican security agencies, the tunnel measures approximately 300 meters (1,000 feet) in length on the Mexican side and is equipped with lighting, ventilation and is reinforced to prevent collapses.

Hidden in a storm sewer system operating between both cities, its access is about 1.8 meters high and 1.2 meters wide (6 feet high and 4 feet wide), making for easy passage of people or contraband, said General Jose Lemus, commander of Ciudad Juarez's military garrison, which is guarding the tunnel.

The tunnel's construction "must have taken a long time... it could have been one or two years," Lemus told reporters, declining to give details about how long it had been operating as well as its possible builders and operators.

He said the Mexican Attorney General's Office was responsible for the investigation and would be in charge of determining if there was complicity by the authorities due to the fact that it was built without them noticing.

Lemus also said clues about the tunnel's existence and location were discussed by human traffickers on social media platforms like TikTok.

Ahead of the US presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday, both sides of the US-Mexico border have reinforced security measures, as the returning Republican has vowed a massive deportation of migrants soon after he takes office.

In the state of Chihuahua, which includes Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported a fire in a temporary camp for undocumented migrants, which led to the evacuation of 39 adults and 17 minors, according to the state police.

According to the Mexican newspaper Reforma, the fire was started by some of the migrants who were camping there to resist attempts by immigration authorities to detain them and transfer them to Mexico City for later deportation.

The National Institute of Migration did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.