Two dead, seven injured after fuel tanker explosion in Mbale

Firefighters battle the fire on the burning fuel tanker that exploded along the Mbale-Tororo Road on January 21, 2022. PHOTO/YAHUDU KITUNZI 

What you need to know:

  • A police officer who preferred anonymity since he is not allowed to speak to the media said they had recovered two bodies by 5:30pm Friday.

At least two people were reportedly killed and about seven seriously injured on Friday following an on-fire fuel trucker explosion in Mbale District, Eastern Uganda.

An eyewitness told this publication that the in-motion vehicle caught fire at Milo Six along Mbale-Tororo Road after it knocked a boda-boda rider before losing control, and over turned multiple times.

“Some stalls along the road were also burnt,” eyewitness and area boda-boda rider Mr Moses Gidudu told this reporter.

The Elgon regional police spokesperson Mr Rogers Taitika confirmed the accident involving the cyclist and the arriving vehicle from Kenya but “requested for time to get details.”

A police officer who preferred anonymity since he is not allowed to speak to the media said they had recovered two bodies by 5:30pm Friday.

"A rescue team comprising police officers and Red Cross officials is still on scene to put off the fire but it's too much. We have temporarily diverted traffic to other roads to avoid more casualties," he said.

The police officer also affirmed the eyewitness account of circumstances leading to the fuel tanker explosion adding that: “The injured persons were transported to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital and the dead bodies have been taken to the Mbale City mortuary for postmortem as investigations continue.”

Traffic along the busy highway was paralyzed from midday as vehicles queued from either side of the road.