Northern Uganda: 7 Perish in 3 Fatal Car Crashes At least 7 people have died in three separate accidents in northern Uganda on Sunday, Chimp Corps report. Aswa Region Police spokesperson, Jimmy Patrick Okema, confirmed the deaths, adding, over 45 people are nursing serious in the fatal incidents. At around 5:00am, a Juba-bound Fuso brand lorry from Mbale which was carrying onions and tomatoes overturned near Atiak trading centre, killing three people on spot and injuring four others. The casualties were rushed to Atiak Health Centre III in critical condition. Okema said medical authorities were working round the clock to save the victims’ lives. As Police were trying to recover from this shocking incident, anther bloody accident occurred at 9:00am. An Isuzu brand bus belonging to Bakulu Bus services, registration number UAN 281Z has a head-on collision with Toyota Land Cruiser Ambulance Registration number NGO 2910 RSS belonging to Nimule Hospital. The Baluku bus was on its way to Uganda from Juba. The ambulance’s driver identified as Charles Alou was pronounced dead while two others registered serious injuries. As if this was not terrifying enough, around the same time, Baby Coach Bus Registered as UAS 309M from Juba to Uganda also overturned at Gordon Hill, injuring 21 people (8 Ugandans, 12 South Sudanese and 1 Kenyan.) Police confirmed the death of two people on spot. The deceased are Nyoni Yoram, a Ugandan and James Tombe Lukinya, a South Sudanese. With support for the regional health service, five ambulances belonging to Police, UPDF, Lacor Hospital, Gulu Municipal and Gulu referral were organized to transport the victims to Nimule Hospital. 10 causalities were admitted at Gulu referral Hospital and two at Lacor Hospital. Police cautioned the drivers against reckless driving which they said is the lead cause of accidents in the region. Safe Way right Way (SWRW), a non-government organization recently partnered with the Uganda Police Force to launch the road safety campaign for safer roads to eliminate costs associated with road accidents. Imrane Barry, Chairperson Board of Governors Safe Way Right Way, said road safety is a growing public health concern for low to middle income countries where 2-3 percent of GDP is lost to after effects of traffic accidents. “At Mulago, our National Referral Hospital, 62.5 percent of the annual surgery budget is spent on traffic crash victims, the social costs of traffic crashes often begin a cycle of poverty in young families critical to the sustainable development of a Nation,” Barry added. The Hon. Abraham Byandala, Minister of works and Transport, says globally, an estimated 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes each year and over 50 million left injured. “Worst of all, more than 40 percent of deaths occur among people below the age of 25 years. Here in Uganda, we lost 3,124 people in 2012 in road accidents according to Police records. And one of the leading causes of these accidents was reckless driving and over speeding.” The World Bank is working with the government of Uganda to develop a road crash database system. When established, the crash database system will be linked to a permanent vehicle inspection and driver licensing registry. This is expected to enhance the traffic control and enforcement capacity of the government in addition to its use for research and studies, enforcement and control activities as well as for investment planning. chimpreports/?p=4370
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 18:39:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015