Mombasa, Dec 11 (IANS): Two Polish tourists were killed and four others, including two Poles, were injured in a road accident in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa on Wednesday, police said.

Resila Onyango, spokesperson for the National Police Service, confirmed the 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) incident at the Mariakani area along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, saying their driver and a guide were also injured.

Onyango said the accident involved a truck and the van carrying the two couples who were heading to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Both men died on the spot and two women were seriously injured, with one in critical condition.

He said the couples were leaving the tourist resort of Diani for Nairobi when the accident occurred. An investigation has been launched into the crash, Xinhua news agency reported.

The accident came amid a surge in the number of road accidents across Kenya since January 2024 as compared to the same period last year.

Statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority and police show that 4,282 people were killed in accidents between January and November, up from 3,901 reported in the same period in 2023.

The leading causes of fatal crashes include hit-and-runs, tire blowouts, loss of control of cars and motorcycles, and improper overtaking and failure to stay in the proper lane resulting in head-on collisions.