Five people were Monday killed when a train collided with a lorry that was crossing railway tracks in Ruiru, Kiambu County.
Police and witnesses said the lorry that was transporting labourers was attempting to cross the tracks but underestimated the speed and distance of an oncoming train.
The workers had been working at a Chinese managed construction site and were being ferried home when the incident happened.
They were all aged below 30 years, police said.
Five of the lorry's passengers attempted to avoid the impending collision by jumping from the vehicle, but were knocked down by the train, some of the survivors said.
Kiambu County Police Commander Muchangi Kioi said five died on the spot while 12 others were injured and are receiving medical attention at local hospitals.
The truck’s cabin and the rest of its body were completely mangled, images were taken at the scene showed.
The number of people in the lorry at the time of the accident was not immediately known. Police plan to interrogate the driver of the lorry after he is discharged from the hospital.
Kenya Railways said the freight train was carrying empty saddles when the incident happened.
“This evening while on its return from Ruiru, one of our freight trains carrying empty saddles hit a lorry which got stuck while trying to cross the rail track at an illegal level crossing,” the agency said in a statement on Twitter.
The management said owing to the line blockage passengers on the Ruiru train disembarked at Kahawa and used alternative means to their destinations.
“We urge the public to use designated railway level crossing.”
The incident increased to more than 20, the number of people killed in separate accidents in the past weeks alone.
The accidents were reported in different places in the country including the Bomet-Narok highway where seven were killed in a collision between a truck and a public service vehicle.
