Dozens dead in Kenya road crash: media reports

Many people are reported to have been killed when a truck rammed into several other vehicles on a road in western Kenya on Friday night, media reports said.

"So far we can confirm 48 dead and we are suspecting one or two are still trapped under the truck," local police commander Geoffrey Mayek told AFP after the accident on the highway between the towns of Kericho and Nakuru.

"Thirty people have been seriously injured and rushed to various hospitals. The numbers could be more but as of now we are sure about 30."

Heavy rains are hindering rescue operations, local media reports said.

"We are suspecting a truck which was being driven... towards Kericho lost control and rammed into matatus (local minibuses) that were packed at a bus stop, running over those matatus and injuring passengers and pedestrians who were standing by the bus stop."

Images posted by local television stations showed several mangled vehicles.

"My heart is crushed," Kericho governor Erick Mutai said on Facebook.

"It is dark moment for the people of Kericho. My heart goes out to the families who have just lost their loved ones," he said, adding that ambulances had been mobilised and all health facilities were on standby.

The number of people killed on Kenya's roads has increased in recent years, according to government statistics.