At least 20 children and 1 adult killed in a Uganda elementary school bus crash

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — An elementary school bus carrying pupils back from an educational tour to a scenic waterfall in Uganda veered off the road and overturned, killing at least 20 children and one adult, police said Friday.

The bus crashed Thursday night in the Kapchorwa District in eastern Uganda while returning from a visit to the region’s Sipi Falls, the Uganda Police Force said in a statement posted on X.

Survivors including three adults and several children were taken to several hospitals, according to police, who did not immediately give an exact number of people who were injured.

At least nine children were hospitalized in critical condition, while the adult who died appeared to be the founder and head of the school, Ugandan Minister of Local Government Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi said on X.

Residents of the village where the crash occurred acted as first responders and helped transport injured children to hospitals while trying to save some victims, Barugahara said.

The bus belonged to the King David Junior School, an elementary school situated in the capital Kampala, police said.

The driver reportedly lost control of the bus, which veered off the road, struck a rock and overturned, according to the police statement, which added that the information was preliminary and the cause of the crash was under investigation.

A police photo showed the bus lying on its side with the entire roof ripped off and the seats exposed, including some that were mangled. Luggage and clothing lay strewn on the road.

Road accidents are common in Uganda and often are blamed on poorly maintained vehicles, speeding and poor road conditions, which are problems across Africa. At least 14 people died when a bus collided with a truck in a remote area of northern Uganda earlier this month.

Africa has the worst road safety record in the world, with more than 300,000 annual road deaths and around 26 deaths per 100,000 people. In Europe, which has far more road traffic, there are around 20,000 deaths yearly and nine deaths per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization and the United Nations.

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The Associated Press