Five people were killed on the spot and five others sustained serious injuries in an accident involving two vehicles on Monday in Uganda’s central district of Mpigi, a police spokesperson said.
Both vehicles, a Toyota Hiace and a Mercedes Benz, were traveling from the capital, Kampala, toward Masaka above the speed limit.
“The Mercedes Benz was overtaking at a terrible speed and (the driver) lost control, knocked the Toyota Hiace, which went off the road and overturned. The Benz overturned too,” said Faridah Nampiima, police spokesperson for the traffic and road safety directorate, in a statement.
She said three adult females and two men aboard the Toyota Hiace died on the spot, and the five passengers on the Benz were injured and rushed to a local hospital.
The accident occurred at Kibukuta swamp along the Kampala-Masaka Highway at around 7 a.m. local time, Nampiima said, noting that both vehicles were moving above the speed limit.
“We wish to remind all road users to be vigilant and observe maximum road discipline,” she said.
Uganda registers some 20,000 road accidents nationwide each year, causing more than 2,000 deaths, according to police data.
