Two hospitalised as fuel tanker explodes
A fuel tanker that got burnt. Photo | Robert Muhereza
What you need to know:
- The incident happened at around 11am when the tanker rolled down rolled at Kirengere in Kyanamira Sub County about 4Km to Kabale town and burst into flames.
Traffic along the Ntungamo-Kabale highway was paralysed for hours on Thursday morning after a fuel tanker that was transporting fuel from Kampala to Kabale exploded along the way.
The incident happened at around 11am when the tanker rolled down rolled at Kirengere in Kyanamira Sub County about 4Km to Kabale town and burst into flames.
The Kigezi Regional Police Spokesman, Mr Elly Maate, said that both the driver (Burihani) and the turn man of the ill-fated fuel tanker Reg No. SSD 775Q survived with injuries and were rushed to Kabale hospital for medical attention.
“The cause of this accident is not yet clear although preliminary investigations indicate that the fuel tanker driver failed to negotiate the sharp corner where the accident happened. After losing control, the fuel tanker hit the electricity pole before bursting into flames. We also suspect that the vehicle could have been in dangerous mechanical condition,” he said.
Mr Maate said that the police fire brigade rushed to the accident scene and put off the fire, but it had almost destroyed the fuel tanker.
In December 2012, a fuel tanker Reg. No. KAW 879W/ZC 401 from Nakuru in Kenya exploded in the same area killing the driver.
