20 students stuck in Mbarara lift

MBARARA: Twenty students of Bwera Secondary School in Kasese District Friday got stuck in Mbarara city mall elevator for almost three hours.
Students who were on a business tour in Mbarara town started on a good note with a visit to Mbarara post office, Uganda Telecom and coca cola plant, before heading to Mbarara city mall which houses Nakumatt supermarket.

While at the mall, 20 of the students entered the lift for a ride at around 4:25pm but they got stuck until 7:30pm when they were rescued by police fire brigade and the building engineer. That is how far their tour went.
‘’We entered the elevator at around 4:25pm and when we reached at level 2, we wanted to move out but it just locked itself when we tried to press the buttons. We heard something hitting like a metal and then the readings from the buttons went to negatives. That’s when we got worried of what was happening,’’ Micah Muhindo, a senior student said in great joy after being rescued.

Muhindo Augustine, a senior three student said while they were trapped, “the elevator all of a sudden became too hot and some of my colleagues started urinating in their pants. I thank God that I’m out breathing.’’
Mbarara district OC CIID said they had not yet established the cause of the incident but they have launched investigations into it.
However, the onlookers blamed the incident to over loading as the lift has a carrying capacity of eight people not exceeding 600kgs.