Kapchorwa accident: Death toll rises to 21

Two more people have died from wounds as a result of Tuesday’s bus accident in Kapchorwa District in eastern Uganda.
This brings the death toll to 21.
“The death toll has increased to 21 from 19. The two victims who were rushed to Mbale hospital died this morning,” police tweeted on Wednesday.

The accident

At about 6pm Tuesday, a loud bang, splintering glasses and a strange whirring of a vehicle engine sent echoes across Towei hill in Kongowo Village, Kongowo Parish in Kapsinda Sub-county in Kapchorwa District.
The residents knew something tragic had befallen them again. True to their fears, some 19 lives had been lost in the accident after the bus they were travelling in rolled over four times on the Kapchorwa-Mbale highway.

The 200-metre steep slope, an infamous black spot, lies only a kilometre away from Sipi Falls.
At the scene, a mangled minibus lay in the middle of the tarmac, blocking traffic on either side of the road. Bodies of some of the victims were picked from the drainage as police and residents cut through the bus wreckage to retrieve some people trapped in what remained of the bus.

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Occupants
The bus belonging to Kiryandongo Technical Institute was carrying staff members of National Cooperative Business Association, a non-governmental organisation supported by the United States of America, operating in Masindi and Kiryandongo districts.
Police said the bus was heading to Mbale Town from the popular Sipi Falls, where the occupants had gone for tour.

The Sipi region police spokesperson, Mr Rogers Taitika, said although they were still investigating the incident, preliminary findings indicated the driver lost control of the bus due to brake failure.
“The bus was carrying 25 staff. Twenty have been confirmed dead so far but we are still counting,” he said, adding that the travellers had gone to tour the spectacular Sipi Falls after the end of their three-day workshop at Wash and Wills Hotel in Mbale.

Mr John Masanga, a witness, said the driver of the minibus was not speeding when the accident occurred.

“The driver tried to negotiate the corner but failed,” Mr Masanga said.
Mr Taitika said the injured were admitted to Kapchorwa Hospital and Muyembe Health Centre 1V in critical condition.
He said the identities of the deceased had not yet been established. However, a witness, Milton Erimia, said two tour guides – both residents of Kapchorwa - Rajab, 17, and Mande, 23, had also perished in the accident.

A business card that a witness, only identified as Yoxy, picked from the accident scene was of Moses Nyipir. It showed that he worked as a youth entrepreneurship adviser, Kriyandongo, for the National Cooperative Business Association.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to Kapchorwa and Bulambuli mortuaries.
Police and a section of residents yesterday said many drivers who are not familiar with the hilly and treacherous terrain of Kapchorwa find difficulty to manoeuvre the bends.

Past incidents

In July last year, a mother, her two children and a number of neighbours who had, after breakfast, gone to till their garden, narratedthat at around 10am, the driver of a truck that was carrying construction materials lost control of his machine and roared downhill, killing the driver, his two turn men and a child on spot. The truck had gone to deliver a consignment of construction materials to VS HYDRO construction company in Kaserem, about 30 kilometres to Kapchorwa Town, but lost their way because they were not familiar with the geography of the place. The accident happened on their way back to Kaserem. About a month later, Police Constable Michael Gona, a driver with the Police Flying Squad, died at the same spot after the braking system of his vehicle malfunctioned.