Hundreds of motorists and passengers spent their night on Mombasa road following a traffic snarl-up on Tuesday.
According to sources, the snarl-up was caused by a road accident in Tsavo near Kyulu forest within Taita Taveta County Tuesday evening.
A motor vehicle is said to have overturned in the area at around 6.30pm.
The carnage reportedly took time to be removed for the road to be cleared leading to the snarl-up that stretched several kilometres covering both Makueni and Taita Taveta counties.
“Those coming from Voi headed to Mtito Andei or vice versa should be wary of a traffic snarl-up in Tsavo due to a road accident. They shouldn’t drive on the highway and instead get safe places to park their vehicles and sleep,” a motorist told a local newspaper by phone on Tuesday night.
Those affected by the snarl-up said the road was still packed by Wednesday morning.
“Don’t come to sleep in the forest. If you get to the forest, it’s up to you. Don’t say you weren’t told,” he warned.
“If you are in a safe place, put your vehicle aside and sleep,” he added.
Another source said the situation was the same by 6.20 am Wednesday.
“It’s now 6.20 am, the incident that happened at Tsavo near Kyulu, the vehicle that overturned wasn’t immediately removed leading to heavy traffic snarling up in the night,” Mutoro Sila said.
The motorists were said to comprise those driving to various destinations for Christmas holidays, while other vehicles caught in the traffic were private, public service, trailers and trucks transporting cargo.
Some victims said basic commodities like food and water were inaccessible hence the tragic situation.
