• The matatu had just left Gede heading to Mombasa from Malindi when a lorry from the opposite direction got a tyre burst and crashed it.
Seven people killed after the matatu they were travelling in collided with a lorry at Kitsapu area near Gede along the Malindi-Mombasa highway on Friday evening.
The 6.30 P.M accident occurred after a lorry got a tyre burst and the driver lost control then crashed the matatu.
Traffic was paralyzed for some time as hundreds of curious onlookers rushed to try to rescue and witness the accident which has been described as worst in the recent past.
Among the dead who have been identified was a mother and her son who had boarded the matatu at Gede area, a short distance away from the scene of the accident on their way to Mida.
When journalists arrived at the hospital, some of the relatives who had got information of the accident had jammed the accident and Emergency wing waiting to know the fate of their relatives.
They broke into tears upon seeing the badly mutilated bodies of their relatives who were brought in by a police land cruiser from the scene.
Business came to a standstill as relatives struggled to view bodies to identify their loved ones when they were brought by traffic police from Malindi police station
Reports indicate that no one survived in the matatu including the drive and the conductor.
Gertrude Rehema from Gede lost her aunt and niece in the accident who had just come to visit them at their home before they were engaged in the accident.
Rehema said she received a phone call and told that her aunt and niece had died and had to rush there and positively identified them.
She could not hide tears as she briefed journalists on the sad incident that had befallen the family for losing two family members at a time.
"I got a call at 6.30 pm that there was an accident at Kitsapu and that my aunt and niece had died. I rushed there and found them and the badly mutilated bodies of other passengers who were still at the scene," she said.
Malindi Sub County Hospital Medical superintendent Evans Ogato said five people died on the spot and their bodies brought to Malindi sub county hospital.
Speaking at the hospital mortuary, he said one other person died upon arrival at the hospital while the other one who was in critical condition, died while being prepared to be transferred to Mombasa.
"We received four bodies, four died at the scene, two arrived in critical condition, the other one was identified immediately and taken to Malindi Star hospital mortuary," he said.
Said Bakari, a resident of Malindi called on the government to take action to reduce the increasing number of accidents as so many lives were being lost along the Malindi Mombasa high way.