NAIROBI, Kenya

Two buses collided along the busy Malindi-Mombasa highway in southeastern Kenya on Wednesday, killing 15 passengers, officials said.

Kilifi County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka confirmed 15 people died and more than a dozen others injured in the accident.

According to county officials, one bus was heading to Garissa County in northeastern Kenya while the other was ferrying passengers to Malindi, a coastal town in the country's southeast.

Government employees and both the drivers are among the dead.

Well-wishers with private cars were the first responders, who were later joined by official rescue teams, the Kenya Red Cross, and others. The bodies have been taken to the Malindi hospital's mortuary.

Thousands of Kenyans lose their lives in road traffic crashes every year due to unsafe public transportation and poorly enforced road safety laws.