Uganda School Bus Crash Kills 20 Children and One Adult
A school bus returning from a field trip to Sipi Falls in eastern Uganda crashed, killing 20 children and one adult. Dozens more were injured, prompting the government to suspend all school trips immediately.
Ugandan authorities have suspended all school trips and excursions after a tragic accident on Thursday night when a bus carrying students back from an educational trip to Sipi Falls in eastern Uganda crashed, killing 20 children and one adult.
The bus, belonging to King David Junior School, was returning to the capital, Kampala, when the accident occurred near Chekwatit village in Kapchorwa district, close to the Uganda-Kenya border, some 300 km (186 miles) from Kampala. Preliminary investigations suggest the driver lost control, and the bus veered off the road, hit a large stone, and overturned, according to the Uganda Police Force.
Names and ages of the deceased children have not yet been officially released. The adult who died is believed to be the school’s founder and head. Three other adults and over a dozen children were injured. Ugandan Minister of Local Government Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi said on X that more than 28 children were being treated in hospitals, with nine in critical condition.
Footage released by the Uganda Red Cross Society shows residents arriving before official rescue teams and carrying victims away from the wreckage. Some survivors were taken to hospitals in pick-up trucks.
Uganda experiences frequent deadly road crashes, with roads among the most dangerous in a region that has the world’s worst safety record. Accidents are often blamed on speeding, poorly maintained vehicles, and bad road conditions. Earlier this month, 14 people died in a bus-truck collision in northern Uganda. In October, 46 people were killed in a multi-vehicle pileup on the Kampala-Gulu highway involving two buses.
