This archive report was first published on 12 December 2019.
On Thursday morning, a devastating crash near Salama Market in Machakos County claimed seven lives, leaving many others injured. The National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) has since suspended the operations of Modern Coast Bus Express Limited, citing concerns over the company's safety standards and operations.
According to NTSA, the company's access to the NTSA portal has been deactivated, limiting any activities on their 88 vehicles. The Authority has also advised the National Police to impound any of the Modern Coast Bus Express vehicles found operating contrary to this suspension.
NTSA Director General George Njao expressed condolences to the families of the victims and wished a quick recovery to those injured. The Authority has initiated a thorough investigation into the buses' safety standards and operations.
The accident occurred when two buses, one headed to Nairobi from Malaba and the other from Nairobi to Mombasa, collided at around 2 am. The driver of the bus headed to Nairobi was among the dead.
Seventeen people were critically injured and were later transferred to Machakos Level Five hospital. The bodies were taken to Kilome nursing home mortuary.
Modern Coast buses have been involved in several accidents in recent months, including a crash just a week ago involving a Tahmeed bus. In the month of December, the company's buses have been involved in three separate accidents.
