Kamuli, Uganda: Three people died on the spot and seven others were left seriously injured after a sugarcane-laden truck overturned on Wednesday evening, May 7, along the Kamuli–Jinja highway at Nawanyago Trading Centre.
The 5pm accident, according to Busoga North Police spokesperson SP Michael Kafayo, involved a Tata truck registration number UBM 106Q that was transporting sugarcane from Kamuli to Jinja.
Preliminary investigations indicate the driver lost control of the vehicle, which overturned and crushed some of the passengers who were sitting on top of the heaped cane.
The deceased were identified as: Koozala Nicholas, 25, resident of Itukulu–Bukaya Zone, Nawanyago Sub-county; Kibikyo Derick, 16, from Bukula Village, Nawanyago; and Ssajjabi Asadi, 26, of Buwolero–Mawolero Zone, Buwenge Rural, Jinja District.
Police say the seven injured victims were rushed to undisclosed medical facilities for emergency treatment. The driver fled the scene and is currently on the run, with authorities launching a manhunt.
“We re-echo our warning to sugarcane transporters and loaders to take road safety seriously. The practice of travelling on top of heaped cane endangers lives,” SP Kafayo said in a police statement.
He added that traffic officers from Kamuli Police visited the scene and towed the vehicle for mechanical inspection. The bodies of the deceased were taken to Kamuli General Hospital mortuary for postmortem.
The fatal crash is the latest in a string of accidents involving sugarcane transporters in Busoga, where riders and loaders frequently travel atop overloaded trucks, often without protective gear or safety precautions.
Police have urged transporters to adhere to basic safety standards and warned that operations flouting traffic laws will face consequences.
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