Tragedy struck on Wednesday morning along the Kampala-Jinja highway, resulting in the confirmed death of nine individuals in a devastating accident. The incident, reported by Ssezibwa region police spokesperson Superintendent Hellen Butoto, occurred around 1 am at Bulyantente near the flyover in Buikwe district.

The accident involved a single truck with registration number UBN 533T, identified as a white Mitsubishi Fuso truck. Unfortunately, the identity of the driver remains unknown at this time. Preliminary reports suggest that the truck, loaded with sacks of oranges and passengers concealed under a tarpaulin, lost control on its journey from Jinja to Kampala. The vehicle overturned, leading to a tragic outcome as the passengers became trapped beneath the sacks of oranges.

Eyewitnesses recounted that, upon approaching a traffic police checkpoint, the driver attempted to evade arrest by steering the truck into a trench. The subsequent overturning of the vehicle resulted in the passengers being overwhelmed by the sacks of oranges, leading to fatalities.

Superintendent Butoto conveyed the somber news that nine individuals lost their lives at the scene, and their bodies have been transported to Kawolo Hospital mortuary for postmortem examinations. Currently, only two of the deceased have been identified.

Efforts are underway by law enforcement to carefully remove the orange sacks to ascertain if any survivors are trapped. The truck is securely stored at the police station, and investigations into the incident have been initiated to determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident.