At least three people were killed and 18 others critically injured in a road accident involving a regional bus in the eastern district of Bugiri on Sunday, reports Trend referring to Xinhuanet.com.
Anatoli Katungwesi, the Busoga East regional police commander, told Xinhua by telephone that the fatal accident occurred following a head-on collision between a Kenyan registered Modern Coast bus and a trailer at Nakawa village, along the Bugiri-Kampala Highway.
The bus was traveling from the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa to Burundi's capital, Bujumbura.
"We are yet to confirm the nationalities of the deceased passengers. The bus moves from Kenya through Uganda to Burundi," said Katungwesi.
The regional police commander said the accident was caused as a result of reckless driving.
"The driver of the trailer was overtaking at a wrong place and didn't consider the right of the bus. It collided on," said Katungwesi.
He said the injured were rushed to Bugiri hospital for treatment while the bodies of the deceased were taken to Bugiri mortuary.
Police attribute the high rates of road accidents to reckless driving, over-speeding, human error, drink driving and overloading.
Uganda registers about 20,000 accidents each year, with some 2,000 deaths, making it one of the countries with the highest traffic death rates, according to police statistics.