18 killed as mini-bus plunges into swamp

Eighteen people were killed when a rear tyre burst on a speeding mini-bus, plunging it into a swamp in eastern Uganda, police said today.

Uganda District Police Commander Elisam Mugisha said the bus driver apparently lost control and went off the road 67 miles east of Kampala.

He said the bus sank in the swamp with the passengers trapped inside. A woman and a child were the only survivors.

“The scene was very ugly and very horrifying, and those who were there to see it will live with those bad memories,” Mugisha said.

The 14-seat mini-van buses – which normally carry more passengers than there are seats – are the most common form of public transport in Uganda and the rest of Africa.

Reckless driving and poor maintenance are blamed for numerous accidents and deaths on African roads.

In their monthly traffic report for Kampala for May, released last week, police said 28 people died and 417 were injured in 863 accidents in the capital alone.