Three people died on the spot after a Kigali-bound Trinity bus they were traveling in was involved in a head-on collision with a heavily loaded truck in Uganda, Police have said.
Three Rwandan nationals died on the spot after a Kigali-bound Trinity bus they were traveling in last night rammed into a heavily loaded truck in Uganda, Police have said.
Trinity is a Rwandan transport company and one of the several companies that serve the Kigali-Kampala route.
The accident, blamed on speeding, occurred in Buwama in Mpigi District outside the capital Kampala at around 9p.m Rwanda time (10p.m Uganda time).
The Police spokesperson for Katonga region, Philip Mukasa, said the driver of the bus was among the deceased alongside two passengers – a man and a woman.
He identified the deceased as Jacques Habiyambere (the driver), Eteline Uwamahoro and Kubwimana."It was a clear case of reckless driving. The bus driver was speeding and he lost control when he attempted to overtake the trailer,” Mukasa told The New Times, adding that the deceased were all Rwandans.
Mukasa said the bus, registration number RAC 403 P, hit from behind the heavily loaded trailer, UAN 691F, that was carrying electric poles.
The bodies were transferred to Mulago hospital in Kampala, while 13 people who sustained injuries, among 10 Rwandans and three Congolese nationals, were by press time still being treated in Gombe hospital.
"We are working closely with Trinity Bus Company to identify the relatives of the deceased and the injured. But so far so good,” he said.
Officials from the Rwanda High Commission in Kampala were this morning at Gombe Hospital monitoring the situation, while plans were also underway to transfer the remains of the deceased for burial in Rwanda.
There are also reports that a fourth person had died from injuries in the hospital but Rwanda Police Spokesperson Celestin Twahirwa could not readily confirm this.
Uganda Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga largely attributed nighttime road accidents to fatigued bus drivers who ply the very busy Kampala - Kigali road.
"The bus drivers understand very well the sharp bends and dangerous spots of that road. The biggest challenge is that they embark on that long journey when they are already tired,” he said.
Earlier in the week, a bus belonging to Kampala Coach, one of the several transport companies that operate the cross-border route, was also involved in an accident in Uganda.