FIFTY PASSENGERS on Wednesday cheated death when the bus they were travelling in lost one of its front wheels and veered off the road along the Huye-Kigali highway. The passengers, aboard a Horizon Bus Coach (registration number UAM 0 19L) en route from Bukavu, DR Congo via Kigali to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, had mainly Congolese and Ugandan nationals on board.
FIFTY PASSENGERS on Wednesday cheated death when the bus they were travelling in lost one of its front wheels and veered off the road along the Huye-Kigali highway.
The passengers, aboard a Horizon Bus Coach (registration number UAM 019L) en route from Bukavu, DR Congo via Kigali to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, had mainly Congolese and Ugandan nationals on board.
Sources said the bus was damaged beyond repair.
The horrific accident took place at a corner located in Gatagara, Mukingo sector of Nyanza district, when the bus lost a wheel, swerved off the road and overturned.
15 of the passengers were admitted at the Nyanza District Hospital with minor injuries. Many of them were discharged by Wednesday night while the remaining eight are expected to be discharged anytime since their situation has improved, according to health officials.
Sources blamed the accident on a ‘mechanical fault’.
The Southern region police Spokesperson Chief Superintendent Hubert Gashagaza told The New Times that ensuring proper mechanical condition of vehicles could help avoid such traffic accidents.
"All vehicles are required to undergo a periodic technical inspection and those that are not roadworthy are required to be repaired before they are allowed on road again,” he said.