At least 24 dead in bus and tanker crash in Kenya

At least 24 people have died in a collision between a bus and a tanker carrying cooking oil on one of Kenya's major roads.

It happened around midnight local time on the road linking the port of Mombasa with the capital city, Nairobi.

The bus was trying to overtake another vehicle when it smashed into the oncoming tanker, said Leornard Kimaiyo, police chief for the southern town of Kibwezi.

He said the bus was going to Mombasa and the tanker in the opposite direction.

"Twenty adults and three children died on the spot, while one adult died later in hospital," he told Reuters.

Police said many of the people on board were families travelling home after the Easter break and students returning after the holidays.

Around 3,000 people die in road accidents in Kenya each year.

Deaths have increased despite police getting tougher on drink-drivers, with roadblocks set up to do breathalyser tests and tougher fines.