14 killed, scores injured in deadly highway crash near Gulu
Police said the impact was so severe that both drivers were killed instantly, while several passengers died at the scene.
Grief engulfed families across Northern Uganda on Wednesday after a devastating road crash involving a passenger bus and a cargo lorry claimed at least 14 lives and left more than 40 people injured in Omoro District.
The fatal collision occurred at Kulo-Otit in Bobi Sub-county, about 20 kilometres from Gulu City, when an Opit Travellers bus travelling from Kampala towards Gulu crashed head-on into a Kenyan-registered trailer heading in the opposite direction.
Police said the impact was so severe that both drivers were killed instantly, while several passengers died at the scene.
Emergency responders, police officers and local residents rushed to the crash site to rescue survivors and recover bodies trapped in the mangled wreckage.
The injured were evacuated to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor and other nearby medical facilities, where health workers worked through the night to attend to victims. Several passengers were reported to be in critical condition.
Aswa West Regional Police spokesperson David Ongom Mudong said preliminary investigations indicate that speeding may have played a role in the accident.
Investigators are also examining witness accounts that the bus driver may have attempted to avoid a pedestrian shortly before the collision occurred.
The bodies of the deceased were transferred to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital mortuary pending identification and postmortem examinations.
By Wednesday morning, relatives had begun arriving at the hospital in search of loved ones believed to have been aboard the ill-fated bus.
The Kampala–Gulu Highway is one of Uganda’s busiest transport routes, carrying passenger and cargo traffic between the capital, Northern Uganda and neighbouring South Sudan.
The latest tragedy has once again raised concerns over road safety on the corridor, which has witnessed a number of fatal crashes in recent years despite repeated warnings from traffic authorities.
Police have urged motorists to observe speed limits, avoid dangerous overtaking and exercise extra caution during night travel as investigations into the cause of the crash continue.
