Nurse, Patient, and attendant die in ambulance fire along Kasese-Fort Portal highway

Three people including a nurse, patient, and his attendant have been confirmed dead after an ambulance they were traveling in caught fire along the Kasese-Fort Portal highway.

The incident happened on Wednesday evening when the government ambulance of Reg No. UG291M attached to Bwera Hospital transferring a patient from Bwera Government Hospital to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital caught fire at a place called Kibiito, Bunyangabu district.

The deceased have been identified as Robert Asaba, 53 who was the patient, Peter Baluku, 36, a nursing officer attached to Bwera Government Hospital, and an unnamed attendant.

According to an official statement by the Ministry of Health, the ambulance had five people at the time of the fire that started in the patient’s cabin but two were evacuated alive with severe burns and rushed to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital for medical attention.

“Our Fort Portal emergency response team reported that five people were on board at the time of the fire that started in the patient cabin. The three people who were in the patient’s cabin including an emergency nurse, the attendant, and the patient died in the fire,” the Health Ministry said.
“Two other occupants who were in the front cabin of the ambulance including the driver and another attendant escaped with severe burns but were rushed to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital.”

“The exact cause of the fire is not known. Investigations will be conducted by experts to establish the cause. We shall update the public as further information becomes available. We pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in eternal peace,” the ministry’s statement reads further.

According to the ministry, a team of experts from the emergency medical services has since been sent to evacuate the causalities from Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital where there is a specialized burns unit to handle their severe burns.