Death toll from Uganda school bus crash rises to 24

Three more schoolchildren have died from injuries sustained during a fatal bus crash in eastern Uganda, raising the death toll to 23 children and one adult, police said.

A bus carrying dozens of pupils and their teachers from the King David Junior School in Kampala was returning to the city from a trip to Sipi Falls on Thursday night when the accident occurred.

Police investigators said the driver lost control of the vehicle at Chekwatit village in Kapchorwa district, overturning the bus and hitting a large stone.

Six of the dead are yet to be identified, and the adult killed in the crash is believed to be the school’s founder and head.

Dozens of children were rushed to hospitals, with 23 of the injured still being treated in Kapchorwa General Hospital. Three other vehicles on the same trip returned home safely, police said.

Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports on Friday ordered a nationwide halt to school trips to allow for a “comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding recent crashes involving schoolchildren”.

Police also announced they will “provide escorts to ensure the safe return of learners to their respective schools”.

Uganda has one of the world’s worst road safety records, with crashes often blamed on poorly maintained vehicles and roads, as well as speeding.

Earlier this month, 14 people died when a bus and truck collided in northern Uganda. In October, at least 46 people were killed when two buses collided on a major highway.