Kapchorwa accident: Police start identifying victims

The wreckage of the bus. Photo by Paul Watala

ACCIDENT   KAPCHORWA  SIPI

The Police in Kapchorwa has this morning kicked off with the process of identification of the Siipi-Kapchorwa Bus accident victims at Kapchorwa main hospital.

Total of twenty people yesterday died on the spot in an accident and over five people survived with serious injuries and were rushed to Kapchorwa referral hospital where they are receiving treatment.

According to the Siipi regional police commander, Ignatius Otang, the Police is in touch with some of the relatives of the victims.

He said the process of identifying the accident victims is under way, but he said to the long distances where the victims had traveled had delayed some of the relatives to arrive in time to pick the remains of their relatives.

"We started getting in touch with the relatives of the accident victims yesterday and we have continued to receive calls from some of the relatives that had come for the meeting at Wash and Will Hotel in Mbale," Otang said.

"We have also identified victims who came from Dokolo, Lira, Kirayandongo, Masindi, Kole and other surrounding districts. They were staff from Kiryandongo that asked their bosses to allow them tour Kapchorwa and Siipi Falls," he said.

Otang said that they have been able to use several media houses to make announcements appealing to relatives to rush to Kapchorwa referral hospital and be able to identify the bodies of their relatives so that they can be taken for burial.

"Some of the bodies were beyond recognition and where possible some of the relatives will be subjected to DNA tests to avoid people taking bodies that do not belong to them," he said.

The regional traffic officer Siipi sub-region, Tom Mpaisi, said the victims were in Mbale for the end of year retreat and the bus belonged to Kiryandongo district local government education department.

He said that the bus had over 30 people, adding that driver was not seriously injured and is receiving treatment at Kapchorwa referral hospital, adding that upon getting better he will be charged with reckless driving.

"We are waiting for the survivors and the driver to get better so that they can give us what actually happened. According to eye witness, the bus breaks ran loose and feared to fall down the cliff hence hitting the rock that led the bus to overturn six times," he said.

By 9:00am Wednesday morning, no relative had arrived to identify and pick the bodies of their relatives and as we speak the baby sitters and babies to some the accident victims are now stranded at Wash and Wills.