At least 24 people were killed and 24 others injured when a bus collided with a truck on Kenya’s main highway on Sunday, police said.

The accident occurred just three weeks after another crash on the same highway, which connects the capital, Nairobi, with the coastal city of Mombasa, claimed 17 lives.

Paul Kisienya, medical superintendent at Mtito Andei Hospital, which received most of the injured, said 24 people were being treated following the Sunday morning crash.

The passengers were returning to Mombasa after attending the funeral of their church pastor in western Kenya when the accident occurred.

Violet Mwandonyi, a mother of two, said the bus had just left Mtito Andei town, where the passengers had stopped for breakfast.

“I cannot recall what exactly happened. The last thing I remember is that we were all wailing and calling on motorists to come to our rescue. I don't know the fate of my two children who were on the bus,” she said.

The exact circumstances of the crash remain unclear. Another passenger, Spenza Mudave, said a truck struck the bus from behind, causing it to overturn.

The National Transport Safety Authority had earlier suspected that “improper overtaking” was responsible, based on information indicating that the vehicles had collided head-on.

The authority called for road crashes to be declared a “national disaster”.

“Road crashes have reached a national emergency level, with about 20,000 crashes claiming over 5,000 lives annually,” it said in a statement.

President William Ruto expressed condolences to the families of the victims and ordered inspections of all public service vehicles to ensure compliance with safety requirements and help prevent road accidents.

He also urged drivers “to exercise utmost caution and observe traffic rules to safeguard lives.”

Speeding and poor road conditions have previously been identified as contributing factors in road accidents in Kenya.