Kenyatta University (KU) has canceled its scheduled educational trip to the Coast following a fatal bus accident in the Maungu area along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
In a statement to newsrooms on Tuesday, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura disclosed that two buses were a part of the university's academic excursion to the Coast. However, one of the buses was involved in a fatal collision that resulted in the deaths of eleven people and severe injuries to twenty-one others.
He continued by saying that although the second bus arrived at its destination, word of the accident caused it to be recalled back to the institution.
"Two buses had departed from the university for an academic trip at the Coast; one bus arrived safely, while the other was involved in a collision with a heavy truck around 6 pm near Maungu area, Taita Taveta County," said Mwaura.
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"The planned trip has been cancelled and the students who had arrived for the trip have been recalled to the institution in a show of solidarity with the affected comrades."
Mwaura also disclosed that the Ministry of Education, on behalf of the government, is working closely with KU officials to offer counseling and psychosocial support to students impacted by the unfortunate accident.
Relatives have already begun to stream into the facility that will serve as the help desk center in hopes of finding information about their kin, accommodating those who were searching for information about their kin on the unfortunate bus.
In the meantime, the university has suspended classes for three days in remembrance of the students who lost their lives in the collision.
According to Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Waceke Wanjohi, the institution's community will be able to grieve for the deceased during the three days.
On Tuesday, Prof. Paul Wainaina, the university's vice chancellor, visited the injured students at the Moi County Referral Hospital.
After being airlifted to Nairobi, seven students with severe injuries are undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city.
Sixteen more people with less severe injuries are being taken to the same hospital for medical attention.
According to the university, the dead students' bodies will be taken to the Kenyatta University Funeral Home while they are being identified.
