Kampala
– At least 17 people were killed on Saturday in a multi-vehicle accident on a
Uganda highway, one of the worst crashes of its kind in this East African
country.
National police spokesperson Polly Namaye said five vehicles,
including two passenger minibuses, were involved in the accident on Saturday
evening in Mpigi district, about 50km from the capital, Kampala.
Initial investigations showed that a private vehicle attempted to
overtake another at a sharp corner, hitting a trailer which swerved and hit
other vehicles, she said.
"We believe this was reckless driving," she said.
She said 12 other people were injured in the accident.
Philip Mukasa, a regional police spokesperson in charge of the
area where the accident occurred, described a gruesome scene, with officials
still trying to make sense of what happened. He said the 15 people died
instantly.
Deadly motor accidents are frequent in Uganda, where roads and
highways are narrow and often littered with potholes. Head-on collisions
involving heavy vehicles are common.
The highway where Saturday's accident occurred usually has heavy
traffic including trucks carrying imports from the Indian Ocean coast to Rwanda
through western Uganda.
