The charred remains of the truck at the accident site
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Mystery still shrouds the fuel tanker tragedy that occurred at Kigogwa Town along the Kampala-Bombo road in Wakiso District on Tuesday.
A fuel tanker filled with flammable petroleum products overturned and caught fire at 3:00 PM, and reports indicate that several people may have lost their lives, while others have been injured.
Habari Daily can now confirm that up to 10 people lost their lives in the ensuing flames, while 15 others have been seriously injured.
Eye witnesses that our reporter spoke to reported to have seen several charred bodies, burnt beyond recognition at the scene of the accident.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, said in a statement that after receiving an alert, a multi-agency response team was deployed to the scene. It included fire brigade trucks, patrol cars, Red Cross personnel, ambulances and police officers.
Onyango urged the public to follow official channels for updates on the situation, adding that “Our thoughts are with the affected families and communities.”
Fire fighters trying to contain the braze at the accident site
According to a Red Cross official who talked to this publication on condition of anonymity, several injured people were rushed to Kiruddu Referral Hospital for emergency medical attention.
Other eye witnesses reported that fuel from the tanker spilled towards nearby houses, and it is suspected that about 15 houses were affected.
The spill reportedly enticed onlookers, who moved in with all kinds of containers to scoop the fuel. Disaster struck when a woman who was roasting maize along the road on a charcoal stove was burnt beyond recognition. She was only identified as Cissy.
Traffic flow along the route was affected as a result of the incident.
We will keep you updated as further details emerge.
