Kabale, Uganda | Traffic has come to a standstill along the Mbarara-Kabale highway following the explosion of a fuel tanker on Saturday. The incident occurred around midday when the tanker rolled at Kyanamira corner in Kyanamira sub-county and subsequently exploded.
WATCH VIDEO: Fuel tanker in flames along kabale Ntungamo Highway
The tanker, which was en route from Kampala to Kabale, is part of a critical route connecting Uganda to the Rwanda border at Katuna and the Democratic Republic of Congo border at Bunagana in Kisoro district.
Eyewitnesses Robert Shagama and Darius Twesigye, known as Nkumbura, reported seeing the tanker roll into a trench after failing to navigate a corner. "Immediately after rolling, it exploded, and flames quickly spread to nearby kiosks and houses," Shagama recounted.
Twesigye added that the driver, who remains unidentified, managed to escape but fell while attempting to flee and was later taken to Kabale Regional Referral Hospital in critical condition.
Andrew Akanyijuka, the Officer in Charge of Kabale Police Station, along with Joseph Bakaleke, the Kabale District Police Commander, attempted to extinguish the fire using a police fire truck, but their efforts were unsuccessful. As of the latest update, traffic remains halted in the area.
This incident follows a similar event in April 2022, when another fuel tanker rolled and exploded just 100 meters from the current site. In that case, the driver survived but sustained serious burns.
