49 dead, 30 injured in bus crash near Uganda-Rwanda border

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 24, 2003

49 dead, 30 injured in bus crash near Uganda-Rwanda border

Forty-nine people have been killed while 30 were seriously injured in a bus crash happening Monday near Uganda-Rwanda border, Rwanda News Agency reported Tuesday.

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Forty-nine people have been killed while 30 were seriously injured in a bus crash happening Monday near Uganda-Rwanda border, Rwanda News Agency reported Tuesday.

Thirty-three died on spot while 16 others died later in the hospital after the bus they were traveling in collided with a World Food Programme trailer some few Kilometers from the Rwanda-Uganda border of Katuna.

The bus, which was traveling from Kigali, capital of Rwanda, to Kampala, capital of Uganda, mainly had passengers of Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda origin.

According to Rwanda's police sources, the number of nationals that were on board the fateful bus is not yet established.

"We can not tell the number of Rwandans who were injured or died in the bus, it is not easy to identify those people, some have lost their identities but we have taken a number of people who had their relatives in the bus to assist the police in the identification exercise."

Meanwhile, a number of vehicles are leaving Kigali to Kabale to assist in the identification of dead bodies and those in critical conditions.

A number of grieved families last night kept at Kigali International Airport weeping for their beloved ones as they waited for choppers from Kabale.

Right after the accident, Rwanda sent two army helicopters, two ambulances, a number of doctors and medical supplies to Kabale hospital to try and save lives of many.

Talking from Kabale hospital, Dr. Kanyankole William (Kanombe Hospital) said, "some injured people are in critical conditions but we are trying our best to save lives of many."

The doctor added that some patients were to be transported to Kigali for treatment.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has sent a message of condolence to the grieves families.

Buses connect Kigali to Kampala daily with at least four buses, two from Kampala and two from Kigali. The fateful Jaguar bus had 79 passengers on board, particularly students and business people.

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