More than 60 killed in fireball crash

More than 60 people, including 10 foreigners, were killed when a fuel truck and a packed bus turned into a fireball after colliding in western Uganda.

All the passengers on the bus were killed in yesterday’s accident near Rutoto, about 180 miles west of Kampala, said Asuman Mugenyi, a police spokesman. He did not give a specific number,

The fuel tanker’s brakes failed as it was coming down a hill. The truck rolled for at least a mile, gaining speed, until the driver totally lost control on a sharp turn, and smashed into the oncoming bus, Mugenyi said.

Makmot Okello, a police official from the area, said the foreigners were United Nations workers based in Congo on their way to Kampala. UN officials in Congo could not confirm the report.

Okello said the charred bodies were still in the wreckage. Police at the scene were waiting for a pathologist from Kampala to arrive and determine the exact number of people killed before removing the remains, he said.

The bus was travelling to Kampala from Mpondwe, a town on the Congolese border, 190 miles west of the capital, Mugenyi said.