Many people can be seen gathering around the mortuary wailing and sobbing, attempting to gain access to the doorway. Hospital management at one time had to seek assistance from the UPDF personnel to manage the crowds.
A somber mood engulfs Fort Portal regional referral hospital as relatives of the victims of the Fort Portal Kyenjojo Highway Link bus accident gather at the Mortuary to identify their bodies, following the Wednesday
morning accident
At least 20 people had been confirmed by police to
have died in a single fatal crash. Eleven male and nine female victims' bodies have been taken to the
mortuary pending treatment and being handed over to their families.
Many people can be seen gathering around the mortuary wailing
and sobbing, attempting to gain access to the doorway. Hospital management at one time had to seek assistance from the UPDF personnel to manage the
crowds. Hundreds of members of the public have also tried to access the mortuary to see for themselves, making the situation harder to manage.
At the surgical ward, the nurse in charge Joyce Munakenya
told URN that the hospital had run out of space for admission following the
huge number of patients that were being brought from the causualty ward.
Munakenya says they received three serious cases
where patients had broken limbs and arms that were shattered during the accident.
I can’t ascertain the exact number of patients in the
hospital, but one thing I’m sure of is that they are many, others are still in the theater
undergoing medical procedures,” Munakenya added.
However, she said a few of the patients who had minor
injuries were discharged from the facility to create more space.
//Cue in : in charge of the surgical ward...//
Cue out : people running up and down.”//
Haruna Mohammed one of the survivors told our
reporter that the the front tyre burst which made the
driver lose control hence hence causing the accident.
“At the moment I don’t know exactly how I escaped
from the bus because it was at a terrible speed by the time the accident occurred,
I just found myself outside with a minor injury on the head,
however one of the people I was sitting with from Bundibugyo died,” Mohammed said.
One of the survivors who was heading for agricultural training in said she had barely paid her transport fares when
she heard the tyre burst before the bus hit a guard rail along the Road.
//Cue in: mbaire Ntwirwe ekitongole ….//
Cue out : …Kabarole district.”//
Police are yet to name the deceased and the exact
number of patients who sustained both minor and serious injuries.
Mwesige Joel
Freelancer