Five people died and three others were seriously injured when the tyre of the vehicle they were travelling in burst and rolled several times into a ditch in Laghabuna along the Malindi-Garsen highway on Thursday.
Three passengers - a man, woman and a child - died on the spot while two others died while undergoing treatment at the Garsen Hospital in Tana River county.
Tana deputy county commissioner William Makhanu Nasongo said the vehicle was traveling from Malindi to Lamu. The driver lost control of the vehicle when the tyre burst. The driver he said is among the survivors.
He said the vehicle had eight occupants including two children.
"The bodies have been taken to Malindi Subcounty Hospital mortuary while the injured were also rushed to the same hospital where they are getting treatment," he said.
Reports indicate that among the dead was a high school student who was returning to Lamu in readiness for the reopening of schools next week.
Malindi Subcounty Hospital medical superintendent Evans Ogato said two patients have been taken to the theater for specialised treatment .
