NTSA Stops Operations Of Modern Coast After The Tharaka Nithi Accident

A day after an accident involving one of Modern Coast’s buses killed 33 people and injured dozens more, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has suspended all of the company’s activities.

The NTSA said in a statement on Monday that the company’s fleet of 31 buses had been stopped while an investigation into the fatal crash was ongoing.

The halt of operations will affect at least seven routes that the company plies. They include: Nairobi – Mombasa, Mombasa – Mtwapa – Kilifi – Malindi – Witu – Mpeketoni – Lamu, Nairobi – Nakuru – Kisumu – Kakamega – Busia, Nairobi – Nakuru – Kisumu – Eldoret – Malaba, Nairobi – Narok – (Kisii – Homabay – Migori – Isibania, Mombasa – Makindu – Wote – Kitui – Machakos and Nairobi – Thika – Embu – Meru – Maua.

“A thorough multi-agency investigation into the crash and an evaluation of the operator’s safety operational standards is currently underway,” the statement from NTSA reads.

“We condole with the families of those who lost their loved ones in this tragic crash and wish quick recovery to those undergoing treatment,”

Meanwhile, the death toll from the Sunday accident hit 33 on Monday after more passengers who had sustained injuries succumbed while undergoing treatment.

Before the 6:30 pm collision at the Tharaka Nithi bridge, the bus was reportedly transporting passengers from Maua to Mombasa.

The bus’s damaged wreckage was seen in several internet images and videos that were posted close to the famed Tharaka Nithi blackspot.

The river was home to some of the wreckage.

The bus probably lost brakes, struck an approaching car, and then fell 40 feet into the river below, according to police officers and rescue workers at the accident scene.