At least one person has been reported dead and scores injured in an infernal that gutted a fuel tanker that was traveling from Malaba boarder towards Kampala.
The incident happened in Tororo District as a diesel tanker number KAV 697Z/ ZB 7063 over turned several times when the driver failed to break hitting multiple electric poles.
Ms Moses Mugwe the Bukedi south police spokesperson said, “We are still investigating on the cause of the accident however we have got leads that will guide the investigations however we are also going to verify with Uganda Revenue Authority at Malaba point of entry to ascertain where the truck was heading and quantity of fuel it was loaded.”
Traffic flow was disrupted for nearly three hours as the fire engulfed the entire Malaba- Jinja highway. The driver is believed to have jumped off with a serious wound leaving behind the turn man who was trapped in the wreckage of the vehicle.
The police fire and rescue officers battled with the fire and fought a serious battle with locals who had rushed to the scene with jerricans wanting to fetch the fuel.
The local residents called upon the government to install some humps on the highway saying accidents are normally very common in the area especially from Rock classic Hotel to Osukuru corner trading center.
Tororo deputy resident district commissioner Albert Amula said they are going to view the CCTV footage to ascertain the real cause of the accident.
Eric Opendi another eyewitness told this newspaper that the fuel tanker driver was being chased by some traffic officers who were travelling in a saloon white car when it hit the electric poles and burst into huge volumes of flame.
