Three people including a patient, nurse and the attendant died on Wednesday afternoon after an ambulance they were travelling in caught fire along the Kasese-Fort Portal road.
According to the Ministry of Health, the incident happened when emergency care teams were transferring a patient from Bwera Government Hospital to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital and the ambulance registration number UG 291M in which they were travelling caught fire while in transit at Kibiito in Bunyangabu district.
“Our Fort Portal emergency response team reported that five people were on board at the time of the fire that started in the patient cabin. The three people who were in patient’s cabin including an emergency nurse, the attendant and patient died in the fire,” the Health Ministry said.
They also noted that the two other occupants who were in the front cabin of ambulance including the driver and another attendant escaped with severe burns but were rushed to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Robert Asaba, 53 who was the patient, Peter Baluku, 36, a nursing officer attached to Bwera Government Hospital and an unnamed attendant.
The ministry said a team from the emergency medical services from their headquarters in Kampala has since been sent to evacuate the causalities from Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital where there is a specialized burns unit to handle their severe burns.
“The exact cause of the fire is not known. Investigations will be conducted by experts to establish the cause. We shall update the public as further information becomes available. We pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in eternal peace. The Ministry of Health regrets the unfortunate incident and extends sympathy to the families that have lost their loved ones.”
Rare incident
Such incidents of ambulances catching fire are rare in Uganda .
