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Seven killed in road accident in central Uganda

Xinhua, May 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

Seven people were killed and two others critically injured in a road accident on Saturday in the central Ugandan district of Masaka.

Lamek Kigozi, Masaka regional police spokesperson, told Xinhua that seven people aboard an Ipsum van died on the spot following a head-on collision with a Rwandan registered trailer at Mpungwe along the Kampala-Masaka highway.

The spokesperson said the accident occurred after the driver of the Kampala-bound trailer drove on the right-hand side of the road instead of the left, according to Ugandan traffic regulations.

"The cause of the accident was reckless driving. The driver of the trailer forgot. He was keeping on the right hand side of the road as it's always in Rwanda," said Kigozi.

He said the bodies of the deceased have been taken to Masaka regional hospital for postmortem and identification.

The two critically injured passengers were admitted at the hospital for emergency medical treatment.

Uganda registers at least 20,000 accidents with over 2,000 deaths each year, making it one of the countries with the highest road accident fatality rates in the world, according to police figures. Endit