KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 20 schoolchildren were killed when a bus carrying them back from an educational field trip crashed in eastern Uganda, authorities said on Friday.
The crash, which occurred on Thursday night, also claimed the life of one adult, while three other adults and more than a dozen children were injured, according to Al Jazeera.
Following the tragedy, the Ugandan government suspended all school trips and excursions with immediate effect until further notice.
The Uganda Police Force said the bus, belonging to King David Junior School, was returning to the capital, Kampala, after a visit to Sipi Falls when the accident occurred near Chekwatit village in Kapchorwa district.
Preliminary investigations indicate the driver lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road, struck a large stone and overturned, police said.
Uganda’s Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, said more than 28 children were receiving treatment in hospitals, with nine of them in critical condition.
Footage released by the Uganda Red Cross Society showed local residents reaching the scene before emergency responders and helping rescue victims from the wreckage. Some of the injured were transported to hospitals in pick-up trucks.
The crash site is near the Uganda-Kenya border, about 300 kilometres from Kampala.
Road accidents are common in Uganda, where speeding, poorly maintained vehicles and poor road conditions are frequently blamed for deadly crashes.
Earlier this month, 14 people were killed when a bus collided with a truck in northern Uganda. In October, 46 people lost their lives in a multi-vehicle crash involving two buses on the Kampala-Gulu highway.
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