Ever thought of the experience of being trapped in a fire?Its one of the worst tales a human can endure that is they don’t disappear in the flames.
Luckily Scores of passengers escaped death by a whisker after a bus they were traveling in caught fire along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway in Taita-Taveta County on Tuesday evening.
The fire outbreak occurred at Manyani trading centre near Voi town. Manyani area is regarded as one of the major black spots in the country.
Traffic officers said the bus belonging to Tahmeed Bus Company Limited with 42 passengers on board was traveling from Mombasa to Nairobi at the time of the fire incident.
Voi Traffic Base Police Commander Michael Murithi said the driver of the bus saw smoke emanating from the gearbox and parked it along the highway.
The traffic boss said all the passengers escaped unhurt as the bus was engulfed in smoke. Briefing The Standard on the fire incident Wednesday, Mr Murithi said the cause of the fire was still unknown.
He said investigations into the incident had been launched. “All the passengers in the bus managed to escape from the burning bus,” said the Traffic officer.
The incident comes at a time when cases of vehicles especially buses and long distance trucks hit by fire outbreaks along the highway continue to rise along the busy highway.
In the recent past several vehicles had caught fire and property of unknown value destroyed. Police and vehicles owners are yet to find out the mystery surrounding the frequent fires.
Meanwhile, over 140 PSV drivers, conductors and passengers have so far been arrested and prosecuted for flouting traffic rules since the crackdown started on Monday.
County Police Commander Halima Abdi said some of the suspects had no driving licenses while others without inspection stickers and reflective jackets.
Others had no helmet while others were carrying more than one passengers. In addition other suspects were driving vehicles with worn out tyres against the rules, said the county police boss.
A spot check has however revealed that some PSV vehicles are back on the roads in the county after complying with the Michuki rules.
Do you think sanity will return to our roads the return of Michuki rules?