At least 20 people were by Monday night confirmed dead following a Sunday night accident in which a truck carrying traders overturned at Iziru Trading Centre in Buyengo Sub-county, Jinja District.
Eighteen people died on the spot in one of the most tragic accidents in Busoga region while reports from Jinja referral hospital and Buwenge Health Centre IV on Monday indicated two more deaths had occurred of injured victims admitted to the respective facilities.
More than 20 others are still nursing grave injuries. The accident took place when the speeding vehicle carrying traders, mostly second-hand clothes dealers, failed to negotiate a bend.
Reckless driver
“The driver was reckless and speeding even as he approached to negotiate a corner in Iziru trading centre. The truck was also overloaded with passengers and merchandise,” the officer in charge of traffic in Jinja, Mr Dickson Rugundana, said Sunday evening.
He identified the driver as Waiswa, who reportedly fled with several injuries.
“The driver was reckless and speeding even as he approached to negotiate a corner in Iziru trading centre. The truck was also overloaded with passengers and merchandise,” the officer in charge of traffic in Jinja, Mr Dickson Rugundana, said Sunday evening.
He identified the driver as Waiswa, who reportedly fled with several injuries.
“He, however, could have died in hiding,” Mr Rugundana said.
Confirming the on-spot death toll at 18, Mr Rugundana said, “Twenty-four of the victims were rushed to Jinja hospital.
Confirming the on-spot death toll at 18, Mr Rugundana said, “Twenty-four of the victims were rushed to Jinja hospital.
Other victims were rushed to Buwenge Health Centre IV and at Kivejinja’s private hospital located in Buwenge Trading centre.” “The vehicle was running at high speed. The driver failed to negotiate the corner and it overturned twice,” said Ms Sarah Nabirye, one of the victims.
Police patrol vehicles turned into ambulances to rush the injured to hospitals. Some of the dead were taken to Buwenge Health Centre IV where relatives picked them before autopsies.
At Jinja Hospital, most of the doctors and nurses had taken a Sunday off, but many answered the call to save life as victims were brought in.
Some relatives battled police, denying the latter opportunity to take bodies for autopsies. They said the bodies from hospitals would force them into spending on transport and mortuary fees. Police said this complicates identification of the dead.
On Monday, police placed announcements on a public address system inviting relatives to surrender the bodies for post-mortem as “lack of a death certificate can have implications for the bereaved.”
A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the press, said the appeal was largely driven by interests of a micro-finance organisation. “Most of the victims were operating on loans and insurance cannot clear their loans without a death certificate,” said the source.
Kiryadongo accident
In a separate accident in Kiryandongo, at least 17 people sustained injuries when a Kampala-bound bus overturned on Palm Sunday.
In a separate accident in Kiryandongo, at least 17 people sustained injuries when a Kampala-bound bus overturned on Palm Sunday.
The bus reportedly lost control at about 3pm as the driver attempted to overtake a vehicle on a narrow stretch in Namilyango Village en route to Gulu District, the police said.
“Improper overtaking caused the bus to overturn after the driver lost control,” Mid-Western Regional police spokesperson Zurah Ganyana said in Hoima yesterday. Twelve out of the 17 passengers received minor injuries.
Additional reporting by Francis Mugerwa
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