Mango accidents kill one, injure seven in Soroti

By Dan Opolot
Steven Wancha a Primary five pupil last week climbed up a mango tree to collect ripe mangoes but in the process fell down sustaining life threatening injuries.

Wancha who hails from Osuguro village, Abarilela Sub County in Amuria district is currently fighting for his life in the orthopedics ward at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital (SRRH) where he is admitted.

 Lying helpless in his hospital bed with his visibly worried mother by his side, Wancha is in agony with a broken waist and a damaged urethra according to a medical diagnosis.

According to Doctors, the serious injuries in his urethra have gotten Wancha, problems with the normal passage of urine.
 The complication in Wancha’s urethra compelled the doctors to insert a tube into Wancha’s bladder to help extract urine.

Records at the Hospital indicate that Wancha is one of the seven people who have been admitted to SRRH after falling down from mango trees sustaining serious injuries and fractured bones.

Robert Ecoru of Abekoi village, Morungatuny Sub County in Amuria district is also admitted at the hospital after falling down from the mango tree breaking his leg.
He told New Vision in his hospital bed that some of his colleagues drop from mango trees but they prefer to remain silent.
“When I fell down some friends were encouraging me to keep quite but I was feeling terrible pain in my leg and could barely stand on my own”. Ecoru said.

Records in SRRH also indicate that one man recently died shortly after he was admitted to the hospital due to a ruptured pancreas after falling down from a mango tree.

Dr. Margret Ajiko, a senior Doctor in SRRH told New Vision in an interview that the Hospital always registers an increase of patients in the orthopedics during mango season.

“Every year during mango fruits season many people fall down and their admitted here with serious injuries after falling down from the tree”. Ajiko said.

She noted that some are of the patients are admitted with broken legs, hands and ribs among other injuries.
Dr. Ajiko said that majority of the mango tree accident victims are school going children.

Ajiko urged parents to provide their school going children with packed lunch sighting that hunger might be one of the cause forcing children to climb up trees looking for what to eat.