At Least 51 People Killed in Road Accident in Western Kenya, 32 Injured

A police officer stands to secure the scene of an accident where a lorry carrying a shipping container veered off the road and ploughed into several vehicles, at an open market and a bus stop, at the Londiani Junction along the Nakuru-Kericho highway, in Kericho county, Kenya July 1, 2023. (Reuters)
A police officer stands to secure the scene of an accident where a lorry carrying a shipping container veered off the road and ploughed into several vehicles, at an open market and a bus stop, at the Londiani Junction along the Nakuru-Kericho highway, in Kericho county, Kenya July 1, 2023. (Reuters)
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At Least 51 People Killed in Road Accident in Western Kenya, 32 Injured

A police officer stands to secure the scene of an accident where a lorry carrying a shipping container veered off the road and ploughed into several vehicles, at an open market and a bus stop, at the Londiani Junction along the Nakuru-Kericho highway, in Kericho county, Kenya July 1, 2023. (Reuters)
A police officer stands to secure the scene of an accident where a lorry carrying a shipping container veered off the road and ploughed into several vehicles, at an open market and a bus stop, at the Londiani Junction along the Nakuru-Kericho highway, in Kericho county, Kenya July 1, 2023. (Reuters)

A truck rammed into several other vehicles and market traders in western Kenya killing at least 51 people, police said.

The Friday evening accident occurred at a location known for vehicle crashes near the Rift Valley town of Londiani, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi.

Officers at the scene counted 51 bodies, but more people were believed to be trapped in the wreckage, Rift Valley police commander Tom Odera told The Associated Press.

The Kenya Red Cross Society said on Saturday 32 people were injured and hospitalized, and asked Kenyans to donate blood. It also said heavy rainfall interrupted rescue efforts and people were still trapped in wrecked vehicles.

Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen visited the scene on Saturday morning and said the government would relocate markets away from the highways to prevent such future accidents.

President William Ruto tweeted a condolence message to bereaved families describing the accident as “distressing” and urging motorists to be “extra cautious.”

Witnesses quoted by local media said the truck veered off the major highway and hit several vehicles before hitting pedestrians and traders. Witnesses shared photos of the vehicle wreckages mangled beyond recognition.

Police had said on Friday rescue operations would continue into the night.

The Kenyan Red Cross Society said they have set up stations at hospitals where people can report loved ones still missing and are providing psychological support to those affected.



More than 1,000 Syrians Have Withdrawn Asylum Applications in Cyprus, Hundreds Return Home

Cyprus' deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides, right, and the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner shake hands before their meeting at the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP)
Cyprus' deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides, right, and the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner shake hands before their meeting at the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP)
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More than 1,000 Syrians Have Withdrawn Asylum Applications in Cyprus, Hundreds Return Home

Cyprus' deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides, right, and the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner shake hands before their meeting at the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP)
Cyprus' deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides, right, and the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner shake hands before their meeting at the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP)

More than 1,000 Syrian nationals have withdrawn their applications for asylum or international protection because they intend to return to their homeland, while another 500 have already gone back, a Cypriot official said Friday.

Cyprus’ Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides said after talks with European Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner that the development comes in the wake of the fall of the Assad government in Syria last month.

Cyprus has adopted tougher polices in the last few years to stem the arrival of thousands of migrants either by boat from neighboring Lebanon or Syria or from Türkiye via the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north. Cypriot officials had said that the percentage of irregular migrants relative to the population had been as high as 6% — six times the European average.

The tougher policies have borne fruit, according to Ioannides. Speaking earlier this week, he said some 10,000 irregular migrants left Cyprus last year, either through voluntary returns, deportations or relocations to other European nations, making the island the European Union’s leader in departures relative to arrivals.

New asylum applications in 2024 amounted to 6,769 – a 41% drop from the previous year and about a third of those filed in 2022.

Ioannides had said the drop in new asylum applications has enabled authorities to more quickly process outstanding applications and offer the necessary support to those who qualify for international protection.

The minister said arrivals by boat in recent months — particularly from Lebanon — have dropped to nil, thanks to increased patrols and cooperation with neighboring governments and European and international authorities.

Last May, the EU unveiled a 1 billion euro ($1.03 billion) aid package for Lebanon to boost border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus and Italy.

But Cyprus has been called out for breaching the rights of migrants. Last October, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Cyprus violated the right of two Syrian nationals to seek asylum in the island nation after keeping them and more than two dozen other people aboard a boat at sea for two days before sending them back to Lebanon.