NAIROBI, March 19 (Reuters) - Nine people were killed and 48 injured when an overloaded minibus slammed into a truck near to a bridge on the Kenyan coast, police said on Monday.

The bus was carrying at least 56 people when it slammed into a truck carrying only its driver late on Sunday close to the Sabaki river bridge, north of the Indian Ocean resort of Malindi. The bridge has been the site of several major fatal crashes.

Forty-two of the victims were still undergoing treatment at Malindi hospitals on Monday, police said.

Kenya, like many African countries, relies heavily on minibuses for public transport -- which subjects passengers to rough roads, poorly trained drivers and often, fatal accidents.

Conditions in Kenya improved in 2003 after former Transport Minister John Michuki laid down tough laws requiring speed limiters and seatbelts and barred overloading. But bus operators still flout them and bribe police.

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