Kigogwa fuel tanker blast: Death toll rises to 15 — Police

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The number of people who are dead after a fuel tanker burst into flames along the Kampala-Bombo Road in Kigogwa town, Wakiso district on Tuesday has risen to 15, Police have said.

After 11 people where initially confirmed dead, the death toll rose to 15 less than 24 hours later on Wednesday when four more victims succumbed to burn injuries in hospital.

On Tuesday, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said the victims were "burnt beyond recognition".

In a statement the following day, Onyango put the death toll to 15 and the injured at 24. Of the injured hospitalized at Kiruddu Referral Hospital in Kampala, 15 are currently in the intensive care unit (ICU) while nine are in the normal ward, he added.

The dead have yet to be named.

"The Police are working to identify the deceased through DNA testing, and relatives are urged to come forward to assist this process," said Onyango, adding that the bodies of the victims will be released to their families once DNA testing is complete.

"An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way, utilizing available technologies such as CCTV cameras to piece together what happened."

The remains of the fuel tanker after it the fire was snuffed out. (Credit: Wasswa Ssentongo)

'Died in corridors'

The ill-fated fuel tanker (UAM 292Q) was moving from Kampala towards Gulu when it flipped and moments later caught fire.

"Unfortunately, the people who rushed to siphon fuel from the tanker were the most affected," said Onyango.

The fierce fire reached and affected nearby buildings housing nine shops, trapping occupants and destroying property.

Several people captured the moments on phone and shared the distressing images on social media.

One particular footage showed moments after the tanker had flipped and people rushing to the scene with jerrycans and buckets to scoop the spilled fuel. A huge fiery explosion followed not long after, sending the people near the scene into a frenzied dash for safety.

This footage had showed people, including boda boda riders, converging at the felled tanker to siphon fuel, before tragedy struck.

It was immediately clear that most of the people at the scene had not survived the blast.

Graphic images circulating on social media showing seriously burned victims with peeling skin — some barely hanging on to life — running away from the scene.

Eyewitnesses said some people died in the corridors of the nearby shops while some survivors were rushed to health facilities on boda bodas.

In the pictures below,  Ponsiano Nsimbi  captured the scenes inside Kiruddu Referral Hospital on Wednesday as medics attended to the victims of the blast and distraught family members also seen inside the facility:

Police spokesperson Onyango said the deadly blast happened at around 3pm.

He said that after Police received the alert, " a multi-agency response team" was deployed to the scene. It included fire brigade trucks, patrol cars as well as Police and Red Cross ambulances.

The fire was eventually snuffed out about three hours after the tanker had caught fire, with the cause yet to be established.

Traffic along the route was affected as a result of the incident.

'Reminder of risks'

"This tragic incident serves as a reminder of the risks associated with fuel tanker accidents and the importance of exercising caution when dealing with hazardous materials," said Onyango.

Other video footage posted on social media showed huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky as the ill-fated fuel tanker continued to burn on the road opposite a gas-filling station.

One eyewitness, apparently filming using his phone several feet from the scene, was still close enough to capture the pandemonium and chaotic reactions from other onlookers and eyewitnesses.

In the footage, one woman — appearing distressed — is seen walking to a safe distance and, pointing towards the scene of the fire and saying she had seen a victim burn to their death.

"There he/she is! Oh my God he/she is burned!" she says, hand on her head, as she walks out of view.

Below,  Robert Musanje  captured the moments firefighters battled the fire:

'Tanker driver arrested'

Commenting on the tragedy, the LC1 chairperson of the area, Joseph Ssenkumba, said the unidentified driver of the tanker was seen jumping out of the tanker immediately after it had overturned.

He said fuel from the tanker spilled towards nearby houses and trenches, which tempted some people to scoop the fluid using containers.

The Regional Police Commander for Kampala North, Moses Nanoka, confirmed that the driver of the tanker was eventually arrested and that he was helping the Police in their investigations.

He declined to reveal the driver's identity.

One woman who was roasting maize near the scene was mortally burned when fuel reportedly flowed to her charcoal stove, causing fire, an eyewitness said.

Moses Kkonde, a councillor in Gombe division and a businessman in the area, said the woman was identified only as Ciccy.

Meanwhile, Onyango said the two victims that died on Wednesday morning succumbed to their injuries at Kiruddu Referral Hospital where they had been admitted the evening before in critical condition.

He said the Police have yet to identify the deceased. 

'I lost four tenants'

Sauya Nassozi Bagwanyi, an owner of one of the shops that were destroyed in the blast, said she lost six of her tenants, including one woman who died with her two children.

Distressed, she said the fire trapped the tenants inside their shops and houses. Other people are reported to also have been stranded inside burning neighbouring shops.

Bagwanyi appealed to the Government to help in meeting burial expenses, saying that after losing her property from which she had been getting money to pay school fees, she did not have money to transport her tenants' bodies to their final burial sites.

“This is the third time that we are getting a similar accident near my houses here," she said.

"I was forced to relocate to Luwero and left the tenants here. We have been asking the authorities to put humps here to control the speeding motorists because it is a black spot to no avail."