Nine people have been confirmed dead in an accident that happened on Wednesday morning along the Kampala-Jinja highway.
According to the Ssezibwa region police spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Hellen Butoto, the accident occurred at around 1am at Bulyantente near the flyover, along Kampala-Jinja highway in Buikwe district.
“The accident involved a single truck Reg No. UBN 533T, a Mitsubishi Fuso truck, white in color. Unfortunately, the driver is still unknown.”
“Available reports indicate that the truck, carrying sacks of oranges and passengers covered with a tarpaulin, lost control on its way from Jinja to Kampala. It flipped over, and the passengers got covered with the sacks of oranges.”
According to eyewitnesses, on reaching a traffic Police checkpoint, the driver of the truck decided to enter a trench to avoid arrest.
The vehicle then overturned and the sacks of oranges suffocated the people who were seated at the back of the truck.
Butoto said nine people died on the spot and their bodies have been conveyed to Kawolo Hospital mortuary for postmortem.
She however said only two of the deceased have so far been identified.
“Our officers are working hard to remove the orange sacks carefully to see if there are any survivors. The truck is parked at the police station, and we have kicked off investigations into the matter."
Credit: Nile Post