Seven killed in two road accidents in northern Uganda

KAMPALA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people from two families were killed on spot and four others seriously injured in two road accidents on Wednesday in eastern and northern Uganda, a traffic police spokesperson said here on Thursday.

Charles Ssebambulidde, the directorate of traffic and road safety spokesperson, told Xinhua that four people from the same family who were traveling to join relatives for the festive holiday were killed on spot in the northern district of Lira.

The accident occurred after a driver of the car lost control at Angwet, along Lira-Soroti highway, killing a church pastor, his wife, mother and a relative.

Three other people from the same family traveling to relatives for the festive season celebrations were killed in a fatal accident in the eastern district of Serere, according to Ssebambulidde.

The accident occurred after a driver of Spacio car lost control and rammed onto a tree at Ojama, along Soroti-Serere road, killing three occupants on spot.

A mother, her daughter and sister perished on the spot while four others survived narrowly after sustaining critical injuries and rushed to Soroti Regional hospital for treatment.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Lira and Soroti Regional Hospitals for autopsy respectively.

"We have launched investigations to ascertain the causes of the accidents. We can't rule out over speeding, reckless and careless driving," said Ssembabulidde.

The traffic police last week issued strict guidelines including avoiding over speeding, over loading and drink 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