A minimum of 63 killed as 2 buses hit head-on in multi-vehicle crash in Uganda, police say

Kampala, Uganda — A minimum of 63 folks have been killed in an accident involving a number of autos on a freeway in western Uganda, police stated Wednesday. A number of others have been injured within the crash, police stated in a assertion on social media.

The accident occurred shortly after midnight native time on the freeway from Kampala, the capital, to Gulu, a serious metropolis in northern Uganda.

Two bus drivers stepping into reverse instructions tried to cross different autos and collided head-on, based on police. 4 autos have been concerned in all.

“One of many (bus) drivers swerved in an try to keep away from collision, however this resulted in a head-on and facet collision, inflicting a sequence response that led to different autos dropping management and overturning a number of occasions,” the assertion continued.

“As investigations proceed, we strongly urge all motorists to train most warning on the roads, particularly avoiding harmful and careless overtaking, which stays one of many main causes of crashes within the nation,” police stated.

Deadly highway crashes are frequent in Uganda, the place roads are sometimes slim. Police normally blame such accidents on rushing drivers.

In August, a bus carrying mourners again dwelling from a funeral in southwestern Kenya overturned and plunged right into a ditch, killing at the least 25 folks and injuring a number of others.

The dying toll within the newest crash in Uganda is uncommonly excessive, stated Irene Nakasiita, a Crimson Cross spokeswoman who described victims left bleeding and with damaged limbs. She stated the pictures from the scene have been too ugly to share.

“The magnitude of this incident is so large,” Nakasiita stated.

Whereas accident victims can anticipate to get assist from onlookers and different first responders who rush to crash websites, “at evening even bystanders usually are not there,” she stated.

A lot of the injured individuals are receiving remedy at a authorities hospital close by.

In Uganda, 5,144 folks have been killed in highway crashes in 2024. That quantity rose from 4,806 in 2023 and 4,534 in 2022, based on official police figures, which present a worrisome rise within the complete variety of these killed or injured in highway crashes in recent times.

Careless overtaking and rushing accounted for 44.5% of all crashes documented in 2024, the police’s newest crime report stated.