Victims of fuel tanker blast in Wakiso 'burnt beyond recognition'

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Eleven people — including two minors — have died after a fuel tanker overturned and burst into flames along the Kampala-Bombo Road in Kigogwa town, Wakiso district on Tuesday (October 22).

In a follow-up statement, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said the 11 victims were "burnt beyond recognition".

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

The fuel tanker (UAM 292Q) was moving from Kampala towards Gulu when it flipped and 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 four nearby buildings housing nine shops, destroying properties worth millions of shillings, he added.

The people who were injured in the blast were taken to nearby health facilities for treatment, with Police saying they are now conducting "a fact-finding mission" to establish the exact number and identities of the injured.

In his earlier statement, Onyango had said the deadly blast happened around 3pm.

People who witnessed the fuel tanker go up in flames said most of the people who died had rushed to the vehicle after it had overturned and started to draw fuel from the tanker.

Police said that after receiving an 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.

The Uganda Red Cross said Kiruddu Referral Hospital in Kampala is one of the facilities where the injured were taken for medical attention.

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

'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.

"Further details will be provided as more information becomes available".

Video footage posted on social media — apparently from the scene — showed huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky as what is believed to have been the fuel tanker continued to burn on the road opposite a gas-filling station.

In one of the grainy clips believed to have been taken by a phone, chaotic reactions from onlookers and eyewitnesses can be heard in the background.

One woman — appearing distressed — is seen walking to a safe distance and, pointing towards the scene of the fire, she says one people was burning.

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

'Driver jumped out'

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, which tempted some people to scoop the fluid using containers.

One woman who was roasting maize near the scene was mortally burned when fuel 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.

Kkonde said he was away in Kampala at the time of the incident and that after receiving phone calls from his colleagues alerting him of what had just happened, he rushed back on a boda boda.

He said he called the Gombe division security officer after being told that some people had started looting shops and houses after their owners had fled out of fear of being caught out by the fire. Security personnel were deployed to the scene to also keep looters at bay.

Kkonde said the fire reached around 15 nearby houses.