by Samuel Okiror
KAMPALA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed and 13 others critically injured in a Sunday road accident in the central Ugandan district of Mpigi.
Philip Mukasa, Katonga regional police spokesperson, told Xinhua that all six people traveling on a small Toyota Premio and three passengers abroad a commuter taxi died after a head-on collision along the Kampala-Masaka Highway.
"The Premio car was overloaded. It had eight occupants as opposed to the recommended five," said Mukasa.
"The impact of the head-on collision was very strong. The bodies flew out of the vehicles," he said.
The spokesperson attributed the cause of the deadly road accident to over speeding and reckless driving.
Assan Kasingye, Uganda's police spokesperson, told Xinhua that the afternoon accident paralyzed the traffic along the highway for almost an hour as the force cleared the wreckage from the road.
The critically injured persons were rushed to Buwamba health center and Masaka Regional Referral Hospital for emergency medical treatment.
"We believe the number of the dead will increase. There are very many people who are critically injured and fighting for their lives," said Mukasa.
Uganda registers at least 20,000 accidents with over 2,000 deaths each year, making it one of the countries with the highest road accident fatality rates in the world, according to police figures. Enditem
