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Wakiso, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Thomas Akugizibwe a resident of Kigoogwa is recovering from shock three days after he narrowly survived death following the fuel tank explosion.
On Tuesday, a fuel tanker, registration number UAM 292Q, overturned in Kigoogwa town from Kampala, heading to Gulu.
Akugizibwe, a 20-year-old shop attendant in Kigoogwa town, is reported to have been among the first people in the area to arrive at the scene of the accident. He works in the shop located less than 50 feet from the scene.
Narrating his ordeal, Akugizibwe rushed to the scene less than five minutes after the accident and immediately embarked on scooping fuel directly from the tanker despite a warning from a driver.
Akugizibwe said that they ignored the warning from the driver because this was the third fuel tanker to overturn in the area and they siphoned fuel from it but in the earlier incidents, there was no explosion.
He narrates that he scooped a jerrycan of petrol from the port which was leaking and he took it away for storage before he returned with a basin.
He however said that when he returned he found the number of people scooping fuel had increased. Akugizibwe was forced to queue for his turn.
Akugizibwe said that a few minutes later, the tanker exploded pushing him to the ground before the fire ignited killing people who were still in the queue.
Akugizibwe was picked from the ground with minor injuries and transferred to Seroka Medical Center where he sought treatment.
He said that since the incident, he is still traumatized after seeing his friends burnt to the ashes.
The fuel spilt on the ground and later spread through the trench before it ignited, leading to a deadly fire. The fire flames engulfed the dozens of people who were gathered near the tank scooping fuel, as well as others who were inside the houses.
According to Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango, the accident claimed the lives of seventeen people and 21 people are still battling with severe injuries at Kiruddu Hospital.
Onyango said that the Police are currently holding ten bodies of those who got burnt beyond recognition at the Mulago National Referral Hospital.
The burnt fuel truck is still at the scene and the driver remains at large.
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