TORORO .
At least 35 Kenyan pilgrims who were returning from the annual Martyrs Day celebrations in Kampala sustained injuries after a bus they were traveling in overturned .
The incident happened at UCI cell in Osukuru Town Council, a few kilometres from the Uganda-Kenya border on the Malaba–Jinja highway on Wednesday .
All the injured pilgrims are currently receiving treatment at Tororo General Hospital.
The ill-fated bus , registration number KCQ05Q belongs to Kasima Mixed Secondary School in Nyahuru County in Kenya.
According to eyewitnesses , the crash occurred as the bus attempted to give way to a speeding truck approaching from behind.
“Both the bus and the truck were coming from Jinja side towards Tororo, but the truck was speeding . When the bus tried to give way, it swerved off the highway and overturned.” Evelyn Kisakye, an eyewitness, explained
The bus driver, Charles Theuri, who sustained minor injuries, explained that they had departed the Namugongo Catholic Martyrs Shrine at 4:00am and were only minutes from crossing the border when the incident happened.
“I was driving slowly right from Namugongo , but when we got here, the truck, coming at high e speed from behind me , didn’t consider how narrow the road was and hit us by side, causing the crash ,we are lucky that no one is dead ” Theuri said.
He said the driver of the truck sped off after causing the crash.
At least 35 of the 51 passengers were rushed to Tororo General Hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Tororo District Traffic Officer,Ms Aisat Nandutu confirmed the crash saying the police traffic unit in the area has launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash and trace the runway truck driver .