At least 17 people, most of them Catholic pilgrims, have been killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the highway linking the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa to Nairobi.

The crash occurred in the Salama area, approximately 90 kilometres (55 miles) southeast of the capital, after midnight on Saturday, police said.

According to police, a truck driver attempted to overtake another truck and failed, triggering a collision that involved several vehicles, including a van carrying pilgrims. Kenyan media reported the pilgrims were travelling in a 14-seater minibus.

The van's driver and 16 passengers, most of them women, died at the scene, police said.

Martin Kivuva, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, said the pilgrims had been travelling to a prayer site in Nakuru County, west of Nairobi. In a statement, he said he and others were "saddened with lots of grief" over the deaths.

President William Ruto offered condolences to the families, friends, parishioners and the entire Catholic community "who are mourning this painful loss".

Kenya's National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) launched an investigation into the crash and said it had dispatched investigators "to establish the full circumstances leading to the collision".

The NTSA noted that the stretch of road where the crash occurred is a known "black spot" and that "recommendations have been made to address safety concerns" regarding the route.

Road accidents are a persistent problem across the region, frequently attributed to poorly maintained vehicles, excessive speed and poor road conditions. Kenya recorded 5,009 road traffic deaths last year, while 2,150 deaths were reported in the first six months of 2026, according to figures cited by local media from the NTSA.