Five killed, one injured in bus-car collision in midwestern Uganda

KAMPALA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed on spot and one seriously injured in a head-on collision road accident in the midwestern Ugandan district of Kiryandongo on Friday afternoon, a traffic police spokesperson said here.

Charles Ssebambulidde, the directorate of traffic and road safety spokesperson, said in a statement issued here that the fatal accident occurred following a head-on collision between a passenger bus and Prado Land cruiser at Wakisaanyi in Kiryandongo, along the Kampala-Gulu Highway.

The bus belonging to HMK Company was traveling from Kampala to northern town of Gulu carrying passengers, mainly those going to their upcountry villages for festive season while the Prado was heading to the opposite direction.

"It all happened when a Prado [driver] tried to overtake three motor vehicles in a row and collided head on with the bus which was moving to the opposite direction," said Ssebamulidde.

"Five of the six occupants in the Prado died on the spot. One person also not yet identified is in Kiryandongo hospital," he said.

The traffic police spokesperson said no injuries or deaths were registered among the passengers traveling in the bus.

"The bus went off the road and fell on its left side. No injuries were registered," said Ssebamulidde.

The bodies of the deceased including the police officer who was allegedly driving the Prado have been taken to Kiryandongo Hospital mortuary

The police attributed the cause of the road accident to careless and reckless driving.

The traffic police last week issued strict guidelines including avoiding over-speeding, overloading and alcohol drinking to reduce road accidents during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

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. Enditem