By press time , another person has been confirmed dead bringing the toll number to three, the number of the Bunyangabu ambulance fire victims.
The latest victim is Donah, who was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital (FRRH).
Two others including Peter Baluku, an emergency nurse from Bwera hospital in Kasese and his patient, Robert Asaba died on the spot when the ambulance burst into flames in Nyakigumba Town Council along Fort Portal-Kasese road in Bunyangabu district on Wednesday morning.
Three other victims namely Masereka Zamari, the driver of the ambulance belonging to Bwera hospital, Jane Kabalisa and Garvin Bagaya, both relatives of Asaba are nursing burns. All the victims except the driver and nurse are from Hamukungu in Lake Katwe Sub County, Kasese district.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health-MoH explained that their field emergency care teams were transferring a patient from Bwera General Hospital to FRRH when an ambulance registration number UG 4191M they were travelling in mysteriously caught fire, a few kilometers from Kibito Town.
The Ministry Spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, said that the emergency medical services department had dispatched a team to evacuate the casualties to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital for specialized treatment.
According to Uganda Police, the fire was from an Oxygen cylinder which was in the Ambulance serving a patient referred to Kiruddu Hospital in Kampala from Kasese hospital . Eyewitnesses say the fire started from the patient’s cabin where the deceased fire victims were seated.
The patient had been referred to the hospital because of Kidney related complications.
“The emergency medical services department at the ministry of health has sent a team to evacuate the causalities who survived with severe burns to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital where there is a specialized burns unit,” part of the statement shared by Ainebyoona read. He said that at the moment the cause of the fire is unknown but experts would investigate the incident.