Mass Burial For Iganga Oil Fire Victims

By Milton Olupot &Solomon Muyita A choking stench from charred bodies took over Iganga Hospital as the death toll from the Busesa accident inferno topped 39. Thirty-one of them were buried in a mass grave just 10-meters from the scene of the accident. The bodies could not be identified and were said to be a health hazard to Iganga hospital. Area MP Abdu Katuntu, Iganga CAO, Iganga DPC, Elisam Mugisha and the Fire Chief, Joseph Mugisa, were at the scene. Mugisa warned the public against getting close to such fuel accidents. “Keep 100 metres away. Anything can ignite fire at such scenes, even mere friction of a metal and tarmac is enough,” he said. About 70 seriously injured victims lay in agony in Iganga and Bugiri hospitals. Fifteen people could not be accounted for. They were missing both from their families and the hospital. Body parts packed in polythene bags were brought in by the Police in the night. Relatives and family members wailed in small groups in the hospital compound. Some families are said to have lost as many as six members. Police said the cause of the fire is not yet known. “Kino kitalo kya mwaka, abantu baife bona bona baweirewo (This is the tragedy of the year, our people have all perished), said a mourner. Information state minister Basoga Nsadhu sent condolences on behalf of the Government to the bereaved families. He urged the hospital staff to give maximum medical attention to the patients. Witnesses said the fire started two hours after the fuel tanker had fallen. Those burnt beyond recognition were mainly women who were scooping fuel in basins and jerrycans and forwarding it to the men. When the fire started, the women were already too dazed by petrol fumes to escape. But the driver of tanker KAK 631F, Mohamed Asuman, 25, and his turn-boy, Adam Hillo, 47, both Kenyans, were reported missing from the hospital where they had been admitted with slight injuries. His colleagues allegedly smuggled them out of hospital. A witness at the scene said the fire was started by the driver of the tanker, who had been angered by the theft of his money from the truck, by the villagers. He reportedly demanded that they return the money in vain and decided to strike a match box, which he got from his turn-boy. Police could not confirm the reports. Police yesterday identified those who died in Bugiri hospital as Mohammad Balirena, Godfrey Ititya, Magola Bilobi and David Mugaya. Those who died in Iganga hospital included a woman and two men whose names were not given. The fire was earlier reported to have been sparked when residents started scooping fuel from it after it crashed in Busesa near Iganga town. The tanker overturned as it attempted to overtake a Tata lorry, belonging to Tororo Cement Industry. Relatives who managed to identify bodies of their kin, took them and buried them at home. A motorcycle on which three men Muhamad Mbabali, Baliraine and Wakholi Mugoya were ferrying the fuel was also burnt. They are among the unaccounted for people. Doctors worked round the clock, trying to save the injured. Blood was reported to have run out and the health ministry promised some. The Ministry of Health yesterday dispatched four surgeons and two nurses with medical supplies to beef up those in Iganga and Bugiri. Ends